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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'1-');">Jud</a> - Contending for the Faith</h2>
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<p><i>These shorter letters of the New Testament are often neglected, but the neglect of this important letter says more about us than it does about the Book of Jude. "Its neglect reflects more the superficiality of the generation that neglects it than the irrelevance of its burning message." (Guthrie)</i></p>
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<p>A. The danger that prompted Jude to write this letter.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,1);">1</a>) The author and the readers.</p>
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<p class="c2">Jud, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Jude</span></b>: The name is literally "Judas." But to avoid connection with Judas Iscariot, the infamous man who betrayed Jesus, most English translators have used the name "<b><span class="c3">Jude</span></b>."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There are six people named "Judas" mentioned in the New Testament, but the best evidence identifies this as the one mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Mat',13,55);">Mat 13:55</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Mar',6,3);">Mar 6:3</a>: <b><span class="c3">Jude</span></b>, the half-brother of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Jude</span></b>, like the other half-brothers of Jesus (including James), didn't believe in Jesus as the Messiah until after the resurrection of Jesus (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',7,5);">Jhn 7:5</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Act',1,14);">Act 1:14</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">A bondservant of Jesus Christ</span></b>: Jude was a <i>blood relative</i></p>
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<p class="c4">of Jesus, but he considered himself only as <b><span class="c3">a bondservant of Jesus Christ</span></b>. The fact that he wanted himself to be known this way instead of introducing himself as "Jude, the half-brother of Jesus" tells us something of the humility of Jude and the relative unimportance of being connected to Jesus by human relationships.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jesus spoke of this relative unimportance in passage such as <a onclick="return mV('Mar',3,'31-35');">Mar 3:31-35</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Luk',11,'27-28');">Luk 11:27-28</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Without a doubt, Jude valued the fact that Jesus was his half-brother and that he grew up in the same household as Jesus. But even more valuable to him was his <i>new</i> relationship with Jesus. To Jude, the blood of the cross that saved him was more important than the family blood in his veins that related him to Jesus. Jude could say with Paul, <i>"Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer<span>."</span></i><span> (<a onclick="return mV('2Cr',5,16);">2Cr 5:16</a>)</span><i></i></p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">And brother of James</span></b>: James was an important leader of the church in Jerusalem and the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name. Both James and Jude were half-brothers of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">To those who are called</span></b>: Jude wrote to Christians. This is not an evangelistic tract and it deals with things that believers need to hear, but often don't want to.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jude identified his readers as Christians in three specific ways:</p><ul class="c6"><li>They were <b><span class="c3">called</span></b>. A person is a Christian because God has <b><span class="c3">called</span></b> them. The important thing is to <i>answer</i> the call when it comes, just as we answer the telephone when it is ringing.</li><li>They were <b><span class="c3">sanctified by God the Father</span></b>. This means that they were <i>set apart</i> - set apart from the world and set apart unto God.</li><li>They were <b><span class="c3">preserved</span></b> in Jesus. Jesus Christ is our guardian and our protector.</li></ul>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,2);">2</a>) Jude gives a warm and typical greeting.</p>
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<p class="c2">Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Mercy, peace, and love</span></b>: This is not the same greeting as found in most of Paul's letters (which usually begin with some variation of "Grace and peace unto you"). Yet it is substantially the same.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Be multiplied to you</span></b>: In the mind and heart of Jude, it wasn't enough to have <b><span class="c3">mercy, peace, and love</span></b> <i>added</i> to the life of the Christian. He looked for <i>multiplication</i> instead of simple <i>addition</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,3);">3</a>) The call to defend the faith.</p>
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<p class="c2">Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I was very diligent to write to you</span></b>: Jude's initial desire was to write about our <b><span class="c3">common salvation</span></b>. But something happened - Jude <b><span class="c3">found it necessary to write</span></b> a different letter. We might say that this was the letter that didn't <i>want</i> to be written.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The letter of Jude is essentially a sermon. In it, Jude preached against the dangerous <i>practices</i> and <i>doctrines</i> that put the gospel of Jesus Christ in peril. These were serious issues and Jude dealt with them seriously.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We should be happy that Jude was sensitive to the Holy Spirit here. What might have only been a letter from a Christian leader to a particular church instead became a precious instrument inspired by the Holy Spirit and valuable as a warning in these last days.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Concerning our common salvation</span></b>: Our salvation isn't <b><span class="c3">common</span></b> in the sense that it is cheap or that everyone has it. It is <b><span class="c3">common</span></b> in the sense that we are saved in <b><span class="c3">common</span></b>, in community. God doesn't have one way for the rich and another way for the poor, or one way for the good and another way for the bad. We all come to God the same way. If it isn't a <b><span class="c3">common salvation</span></b>, it isn't <i>God's</i> salvation - and it isn't <b><span class="c3">salvation</span></b> at all.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. An individual Christian may not know it, understand it, or benefit by it, but to be a Christian is to be a part of community. To be a Christian means you stand shoulder to shoulder with millions of Christians who have gone before. We stand with strong Christians and weak Christians; brave Christians and cowardly Christians; old Christians and young Christians. We are part of an invisible, mighty army that spans back through the generations.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <span>"Upon other matters there are distinctions among believers, but yet there is a common salvation enjoyed by the Arminian as well as by the Calvinist, possessed by the Presbyterian as well as by the Episcopalian, prized by the Quaker as well as by the Baptist. Those who are in Christ are more near of kin than they know of, and their intense unity in deep essential truth is a greater force than most of them imagine: only give it scope and it will work wonders." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c5">iii. In the 1980's a survey poll found that 70% of Americans who go to church say that you can be a <i>good</i> Christian without going to church. This doesn't match with Jude's idea of a <b><span class="c3">common salvation</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith</span></b>: This was the great need that Jude interrupted his intended letter to address. The ancient Greek word translated "<b><span class="c3">contend</span></b>" comes from the athletic world – from the wrestling mat. It is a <i>strengthened</i> form of the word meaning "to agonize." Therefore "<b><span class="c3">contend</span></b>" speaks of hard and diligent work.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The verb translated <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly</span></b> is in the <i>present infinitive</i>, showing that the Christian struggle is continuous.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly for the faith</span></b> because it is valuable. If you walk into an art gallery and there are no guards or no sort of security system, you must draw one conclusion: there is nothing very valuable in that art gallery. Valuables are protected; worthless things are not.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith</span></b>: If we emphasize the word <b><span class="c3">you</span></b>, we see that this was something that Jude wanted each individual Christian to do. There are many ways that every Christian can <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly for the faith</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We contend for the faith in a <i>positive</i> sense when we give an unflinching witness, distribute tracts, make possible the training of faithful ambassadors for Jesus, or when we strengthen the hands of faithful pastors who honor the Word of God in their pulpits. These are a few among many ways that we can <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly for the faith</span></b> in a <i>positive</i> sense.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We contend for the faith in a <i>negative</i> way when we withhold support and encouragement from those who compromise the faith, when we speak out against the preaching of another gospel, or speak out against a manner of living that contradicts the message of the gospel.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. We contend for the faith in a <i>practical</i> sense when we live uncompromising Christian lives and give credit to the Lord who changed us.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Obviously, faithful missionaries and evangelists <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly for the faith</span></b>. But so does the Sunday School teacher or home group leaders who is faithful to the Scriptures. People like this contend for the faith just as much as a front-line missionary does, and each one of us should contend for the gospel wherever God puts us.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints</span></b>: Here, Jude tells us what we are contending <i>for</i>. There is a lot of earnest contention in the world but usually not for the right things. <b><span class="c3">The faith once for all delivered to the saints</span></b> is something <i>worth</i> contending for.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "<b><span class="c3">The faith</span></b>" doesn't mean our own personal belief, or <b><span class="c3">faith</span></b> in the sense of our trust in God. The phrase <b><span class="c3">the faith</span></b> means "The essential truths of the gospel that all true Christians hold in common." <b><span class="c3">The faith</span></b> is used in this sense repeatedly in the New Testament (<a onclick="return mV('Act',6,7);">Act 6:7</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',13,9);">13:8</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',14,22);">14:22</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',16,5);">16:5</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',24,24);">24:24</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rom',1,5);">Rom 1:5</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Rom',16,26);">16:26</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Col',2,7);">Col 2:7</a>, and <a onclick="return mV('1Ti',1,2);">1Ti 1:2</a> are just some of the examples). We must <b><span class="c3">contend earnestly</span></b> for the <i>truth</i>. "<i>The faith</i> is the body of truth that very early in the church's history took on a definite form (cf. <a onclick="return mV('Act',2,42);">Act 2:42</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rom',6,17);">Rom 6:17</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Gal',1,23);">Gal 1:23</a>)." (Blum)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Once</span></b> means that the <b><span class="c3">faith</span></b> was <b><span class="c3">delivered</span></b> one time, and doesn't need to be <b><span class="c3">delivered</span></b> again. Of course, we <i>distribute</i> this truth again and again. But it was delivered by God to the world through the apostles and prophets <b><span class="c3">once</span></b> (<a onclick="return mV('Eph',2,2);">Eph 2:2</a>). God may speak today, but <i>never</i> in the authoritative way that He spoke through the first apostles and prophets as recorded in the New Testament. "There is no other gospel, there will be none. Its content will be more fully understood, its implications will be developed, its predictions will be fulfilled; but it will never be supplemented or succeeded or supplanted." (Erdman)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">For all</span></b> means that this <b><span class="c3">faith</span></b> is for <i>everybody</i>. We don't have the option to simply make up our own faith and still be true to God. This faith is for <b><span class="c3">all</span></b>, but today, it isn't popular to really believe in <b><span class="c3">the faith once for all delivered to the saints</span></b>. Instead, most people want to believe in <b><span class="c3">the faith</span></b> they make up as they go along and decide is right for them. More people believe in "the faith that is in my heart" than <b><span class="c3">the faith once for all delivered to the saints</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. In the book <i>Habits of the Heart</i>, Robert Bellah and his colleagues wrote about an interview with a young nurse named Sheila Larson, whom they described as representing many American's experience and views on religion. Speaking about her own faith and how it operated in her life, she said: "I believe in God. I'm not a religious fanatic. I can't remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It is 'Sheilaism.' Just my own little voice." We might say that this highly individualistic faith is the most popular religion in the world, but the idea that we <i>can</i> or <i>should</i> put together our own faith is wrong. Christianity is based on one <b><span class="c3">faith</span></b>, which was <b><span class="c3">once for all delivered to the saints</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,4);">4</a>) We need to contend for the faith because there are dangerous men among Christians.</p>
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<p class="c2">For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Certain men have crept in unnoticed</span></b>: In part, this is what makes them so dangerous – they are <b><span class="c3">unnoticed</span></b>. No one noticed that they were dangerous. They didn't wear a "Danger: False Teacher" name tag. These <b><span class="c3">certain men</span></b> probably claimed to be <i>more</i> Biblical than anybody else was.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Crept in</span></b> means, "To slip in secretly as if by a side door." (Robertson) <span>"Satan knows right well that one devil in the church can do far more than a thousand devils outside her bounds." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who long ago were marked out for this condemnation</span></b>: These <b><span class="c3">certain men</span></b> have a destiny - the destiny of every false teacher and leader. They are <b><span class="c3">Mared</span></b> and destined <b><span class="c3">for this condemnation</span></b>, and it is enough to say that they are <b><span class="c3">ungodly men</span></b>. They are <b><span class="c3">ungodly</span></b> simply in the sense that they are not like God and no matter the outward appearances, they disregard God.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. They were <b><span class="c3">unnoticed</span></b> by men, but not by God. The Lord is not wringing His hands in heaven, worrying about those who deceive others through their teaching and through their lifestyles. They may be hidden to some believers but as far as God is concerned, their <b><span class="c3">condemnation</span></b> was <b><span class="c3">Mared out </span></b>long ago. Their judgment is assured. The truth will win out; our responsibility is to be on the side with the truth.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Who turn the grace of our God into lewdness</span></b>: These <b><span class="c3">certain men</span></b> had received something of the <b><span class="c3">grace of God</span></b>. But when they received it, they turned it into an excuse for their <b><span class="c3">lewdness</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The idea behind the ancient word <b><span class="c3">lewdness</span></b> is sin that is practiced without shame, without any sense of conscience or decency. Usually the word is used in the sense of sensual sins, such as sexual immorality. But it can also be used in the sense of brazen anti-biblical teaching, when the truth is denied and lies are taught without shame. Jude probably had both ideas in mind here, because as the rest of the letter will develop, these <b><span class="c3">certain men</span></b> had <i>both</i> moral problems and doctrinal problems.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. These words of Jude show that there is a <i>danger</i> in preaching grace. There are some who may take the truth of God's grace and <b><span class="c3">turn the grace of our God into lewdness</span></b>. But this doesn't mean there is anything wrong or dangerous about the message of God's grace. It simply shows how corrupt the human heart is.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Who deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ</span></b>: These <i>certain men</i> <b><span class="c3">deny</span></b> the Lord Jesus Christ. They do this by refusing to recognize who Jesus said He was, and therefore they also deny who God the Father is also.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We are not told specifically how these men <b><span class="c3">deny the only Lord God</span></b>. It may be that they denied Him with their ungodly living or it may be that they denied Him with their heretical doctrines. Probably both were true.</p>
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<p>B. Three examples that show the certainty of God's judgment against the <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,5);">5</a>) The example of the people of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c2">But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">But I want to remind you, though you once knew this</span></b>: Jude knew he wasn't telling them anything new. They were already taught this example, but they needed to hear it again and to apply it to their present situation.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Ideally, every Christian would read these allusions to the Old Testament and say, "Yes Jude, I know <i>exactly</i> what you are talking about." If we don't know what Jude wrote about, it shows we need to deepen our understanding of the Bible.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <span>"As for the root facts, the fundamental doctrines, the primary truths of Scripture, we must from day to day insist upon them. We must never say of them, 'Everybody knows them'; for, alas! everybody forgets them." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "The use of God's Word is not only to teach what we could not have otherwise known, but also to rouse us to a serious meditation of those things which we already understand, and not to suffer us to grow torpid in a cold knowledge." (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt</span></b>: Jude reminds us of what happened in <a onclick="return mV('Num',14,'1-');">Num 14</a>. God delivered the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. They went out of Egypt and without unintended delays came to a place called Kadesh Barnea, on the threshold of the Promised Land. But at Kadesh Barnea, the people refused to trust God and go into the Promised Land of Canaan. Therefore almost none of the adult generation who left Egypt entered into the Promised Land.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Think of what God did for the people of Israel in this situation, and then how they responded to Him. They experienced God's miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea. They heard the very voice of God at Mount Sinai. They received His daily care and provision of manna in the wilderness. Yet they <i>still</i> lapsed into unbelief, and never entered into the place of blessing and rest God had for them.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Afterward destroyed those who did not believe</span></b>: Those who doubted and rejected God at Kadesh Barnea paid a bigger price than just not entering the Promised Land. They also received the judgment of God. <a onclick="return mV('Psa',95,'1-');">Psa 95</a> describes how the Lord reacted to them: <i>For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways. "So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest".</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',95,'10-11');">Psa 95:10-11</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The warning through Jude is clear. The people of Israel started out from Egypt well enough. They had many blessings from God along the way. But they did not endure to the end, because they <b><span class="c3">did not believe</span></b> God's promise of power and protection.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. This example gives two lessons. First, it <i>assures</i> us that the <i>certain men</i> causing trouble will certainly be judged, even though they may have started out well in their walk with God. Jude says, "The certain men might have started out well. But so did the children of Israel, and God <b><span class="c3">afterward destroyed those who did not believe</span></b>." Second, it warns us that <i>we also</i> must follow Jesus to the end, and never be among <b><span class="c3">those who did not believe</span></b>. The final test of our Christianity is <i>endurance</i>. Some start the race but never finish it.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,6);">6</a>) The example of the angels who sinned.</p>
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<p class="c2">And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The angels who did not keep their proper domain</span></b>: Jude's letter is famous for bringing up obscure or controversial points, and this is one of them. Jude speaks of <b><span class="c3">the angels</span></b> who sinned, who are now imprisoned and awaiting a future day of judgment.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "It is not too much to say that the New Testament no where else presents so many strange phenomenon, or raises so many curious questions within so narrow a space." (Salmond, <i>Pulpit Commentary</i>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Angels who did not keep their proper domain</span></b>: There is some measure of controversy about the identity of these particular angels. We only have two places in the Bible where it speaks of angels sinning. First, there was the original rebellion of some angels against God (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',14,'12-14');">Isa 14:12-14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Rev',12,4);">Rev 12:4</a>). Second, there was the sin of the <i>sons of God</i> described in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,'1-2');">Gen 6:1-2</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,'1-2');">Gen 6:1-2</a> is a controversial passage all on its own. It says, <i>"Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose."</i> There is a significant debate as to if the <i>sons of God</i> are angelic beings, or just another way of saying "followers of God" among humans. Jude helps us answer this question.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode</span></b>: This offence was connected with some kind of <i>sexual</i> sin, such as the sexual union between rebellious angelic beings (the <i>sons of God</i> in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,2);">Gen 6:2</a>) and the human beings (the <i>daughters of men</i> in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,2);">Gen 6:2</a>). We know that there was some sexual aspect to this sin because Jude tells us in the following verse, <a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,7);">Jud 1:7</a>: <i>as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh</i>. The words <i>in a similar manner to these</i> refers back to the <b><span class="c3">angels</span></b> of <a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,6);">Jud 1:6</a>, and the words <i>gone after strange flesh</i> refers to their unnatural sexual union.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We know some things about this unnatural sexual union from <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,'1-');">Gen 6</a>. We know that this unnatural union produced unnatural offspring. The unnatural union corrupted the genetic pool of mankind, so God had to find Noah, a man <i>perfect in his generations</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,9);">Gen 6:9</a>) - that is, "pure in his genetics." This unnatural union prompted an incredibly drastic judgment of God - a global flood, wiping out all of mankind except for eight people.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We can add another piece of knowledge from <a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,6);">Jud 1:6</a>. This unnatural union prompted God to uniquely imprison the angels who sinned in this way. They are <b><span class="c3">reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. As for the <i>specific</i> details of this unnatural union, it is useless to speculate. We don't know how "fallen angel" genetic material could mix with human genetic material. Perhaps it happened through a unique form of demon possession and the fallen angel worked through a human host. We know that angels have the ability to assume human appearance at least temporarily, but we don't know more than that.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day</span></b>: God judged these wicked angels, setting them in <b><span class="c3">everlasting chains</span></b>. Apparently some fallen angels are in bondage while others are unbound and active among mankind as demons.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. By not keeping their <b><span class="c3">proper</span></b> place, they are now kept in <b><span class="c3">chains</span></b>. Their sinful pursuit of freedom put them in bondage. In the same way, those who insist on the freedom to do whatever they want are like these angels - bound with <b><span class="c3">everlasting chains</span></b>. True freedom comes from obedience.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. If angels cannot break the chains sin brought upon them, we are foolish to think that humans can break them. We can't set ourselves free from these chains, but we can only be set free by Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. This reminds us that these angels who sinned with an unnatural sexual union are no longer active. With His radical judgment back in the days of Noah, God put and end to this kind of unnatural sexual union.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. This example gives two lessons. First, it <i>assures</i> us that the <i>certain men</i> causing trouble will be judged, no matter what their spiritual status had been. These angels at one time stood in the immediate, glorious presence of God - and now they are in <b><span class="c3">everlasting chains</span></b>. If God judged the angels who sinned, He will judge these <i>certain men</i>. Second, it warns us that <i>we also</i> must continue walking with Jesus. If the past spiritual experience of these angels didn't guarantee their future spiritual state, then neither does ours. We must keep walking and be on guard.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,7);">7</a>) The example of Sodom and Gomorrah.</p>
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<p class="c2">As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">As Sodom and Gomorrah</span></b>: These two cities (<b><span class="c3">and the cities around them</span></b>) also stand as examples of God's judgment. Their sin - which was most conspicuously homosexuality, but included other sins as well - brought forth God's judgment.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Sodom and Gomorrah were blessed, privileged places. They were situated in a blessed area: it was <i>well watered everywhere...like the garden of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',13,10);">Gen 13:10</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh</span></b>: Jude refers to the account in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',19,'1-');">Gen 19</a>, where the homosexual conduct of the men of Sodom is described. <a onclick="return mV('Eze',16,49);">Eze 16:49</a> tells us of other sins of Sodom: <i>Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy</i><span>. Sexual depravity was not their <i>only</i></span> sin, but it was certainly <i>among</i> their sins, and Jude makes this plain.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The sins described in <a onclick="return mV('Eze',16,49);">Eze 16:49</a> show that Sodom and Gomorrah were indeed prosperous, blessed areas. You don't have <i>fullness of food, and abundance of idleness</i> if you don't have material blessings. But despite their great blessing from God and material prosperity, they sinned and were judged.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire</span></b>: In <a onclick="return mV('Gen',19,'1-');">Gen 19</a>, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire from heaven. But that wasn't the end of their judgment by fire. Far worse than what happened in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',19,'1-');">Gen 19</a>, they suffered <b><span class="c3">the vengeance of eternal fire</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This example gives two lessons. First, it <i>assures</i> us that the <i>certain men</i> causing trouble will be judged, no matter how much they had been blessed in the past. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah were once wonderfully blessed but eventually suffered <b><span class="c3">the vengeance of eternal fire</span></b>, so will it be with these <i>certain men</i>. Second, it warns us that <i>we also</i> must continue walking with Jesus. If the blessings of the past didn't guarantee their future spiritual state, then neither does ours.</p>
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<p>C. More sins of the <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,8);">8</a>) The character of these dangerous <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Likewise also</span></b>: Jude connected the <i>certain men</i> with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in their <i>sensuality</i> (<b><span class="c3">defile the flesh</span></b>) and in their rejection of God's authority (<b><span class="c3">reject authority</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When Jude pointed out that these <i>certain men</i> <b><span class="c3">reject authority</span></b>, it meant that <i>they</i> wanted to be in authority. Therefore they rejected the authority of God and they rejected those God put in authority.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Today, our culture encourages us to <b><span class="c3">reject authority</span></b> and to recognize <i>self</i> as the only real authority in our lives. We can do this with the Bible, by choosing to only believe certain passages. We can do it with our beliefs, by choosing at the "salad bar" of religion. Or we can do it with our lifestyle, by making our own rules and not recognizing the proper authorities God has established.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. In the darkest days of Israel, society was characterized by a term: <i>every man did what was right in his own eyes.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jdg',21,25);">Jdg 21:25</a>) Today, this is the pattern of all the world and especially Western civilization.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">These dreamers</span></b>: It is possible that Jude meant that the <i>certain men</i> were out of touch with reality. It is more likely that he meant they claimed to have prophetic dreams which were really deceptions.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Speak evil of dignitaries</span></b>: Probably these <b><span class="c3">dignitaries</span></b> were the apostles or other leaders in the church. Their rejection of <b><span class="c3">authority</span></b> was connected with their speaking <b><span class="c3">evil of dignitaries</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,9);">9</a>) Michael the archangel as an example of someone who would not speak evil of dignitaries.</p>
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<p class="c2">Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Michael the archangel...the devil</span></b>: Jude mentioned two kinds of angelic beings. <b><span class="c3">Michael</span></b> is among the angelic beings faithful to God, who are the servants of God and man. <b><span class="c3">The devil</span></b> is among the angelic beings rebelling against God, who are the enemies of man.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There are invisible, angelic beings all around us. There are ministering spirits sent by God to assist us, and demonic spirits who want to defeat us. The devil can't unsave a saved person; but through his deceptions he can corrupt and defile a Christian who is supposed to walk in purity and freedom. To the devil, we are time bombs, ready to wreck his work – bombs that he would liked to defuse and make ineffective.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Many people today don't believe <b><span class="c3">the devil</span></b> exists, but the Bible says he does. Or, if they believe he exists, they think of him in funny images from the Middle Ages. Back then, <i>miracle plays</i> were a chief form of entertainment. They were sort of a pageant where religious stories were acted out on stage. The audience learned to look for one character that was always dressed in red, wore horns on his head, and had a tail dangling behind him. His shoes looked like cloven hoofs, and he had a pitchfork in his hand. The audience was amused by this silly characterization of Satan, and got the idea that he was sort of a comical character. The devil doesn't mind being thought of this way.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Michael the archangel</span></b>: This angelic being is mentioned by name in four passages of the Bible: <a onclick="return mV('Dan',10,'1-');">Dan 10</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Dan',12,'1-');">Dan 12</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Rev',12,'1-');">Rev 12</a> and here in Jude. Every time <b><span class="c3">Michael</span></b> appears, it is in the context of battle or readiness to fight. He is an <b><span class="c3">archangel</span></b>, which simply means a "leading angel."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If <b><span class="c3">the devil</span></b> has an opposite, it certainly isn't God. It is <b><span class="c3">Michael the archangel</span></b> – another high ranking angelic being.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Let it be observed that the word <i>archangel</i> is never found in the <i>plural</i> number in the sacred writings. There can be properly only one <i>archangel</i>, one chief or head of all the angelic host. Nor is the word <i>devil</i>, as applied to the great enemy of mankind, ever found in the plural; there can be but one monarch of all fallen spirits." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">When he disputed about the body of Moses</span></b>: This is another obscure reference by Jude. The last we read about <b><span class="c3">the body of Moses</span></b> is in <a onclick="return mV('Deu',34,'5-6');">Deu 34:5-6</a>: <i>So Moses, the servant of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows the grave to this day.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">i. We don't know where Jude received his information about this dispute. He may have received a unique revelation from God. But according to teachers in the early church, Jude referred to an apocryphal book known as the <i>Assumption of Moses</i>, of which only small portions survive.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We don't even exactly know why there was a dispute <b><span class="c3">about the body of Moses</span></b>. Some have said that the devil wanted to use Moses' body as an object of worship to lead Israel astray into idolatry. Others have thought that Satan wanted to desecrate the body of Moses, and claimed a right to it because Moses had murdered an Egyptian.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. It is more likely consider that the devil anticipated a purpose God had for Moses' body, and he tried to defeat that plan. We know that after his death, Moses appeared in bodily form at the Transfiguration (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',17,'1-3');">Mat 17:1-3</a>) with Elijah (whose body was caught up to heaven in <a onclick="return mV('2Ki',2,'1-');">2Ki 2</a>). Perhaps also Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses of <a onclick="return mV('Rev',11,'1-');">Rev 11</a>, and God needed Moses' body for that future plan.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. But for Jude, the main point isn't <i>why</i> Michael was disputed, but <i>how</i> he disputed with the devil.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"</span></b> The manner of Michael's fight is a model for spiritual warfare. First, we see that Michael was <i>in a battle</i>. Second, we see that he battled with the <i>Lord's authority</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This proves to us that Michael is <i>not</i> Jesus, as some heretical groups have thought. Jesus rebuked the devil in <i>His own</i> authority, but Michael did not. "The point of contrast is that Michael could not reject the devil's accusation on his own authority." (Bauckham)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Significantly, Michael <b><span class="c3">dared not bring against him a reviling accusation</span></b>. Michael did not mock or accuse the devil. God hasn't called us to judge the devil, to condemn the devil, to mock him or accuse him, but to battle against him in the name of the Lord.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. This relates to the <i>certain men</i> by a "how much more" line of thinking. If Michael <b><span class="c3">dared not bring against him a reviling accusation</span></b> against <i>the devil</i>, how much more should these <i>certain men</i> not speak evil of dignitaries.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,10);">10</a>) More of the bad character of the <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">But these speak evil</span></b>: In contrast to Michael, who would not even speak evil of the devil, these <i>certain men</i> spoke evil, especially when they rejected authority and spoke against dignitaries.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Of whatever they do not know</span></b>: The <i>certain men</i> didn't even know the things or the people they spoke evil about. Their evil speech was made worse by their ignorance.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Since they also spoke against dignitaries and rejected authority, these <i>certain men</i> did <b><span class="c3">not know</span></b> about true spiritual leadership and authority - so they found it easy to <b><span class="c3">speak evil</span></b> against it.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves</span></b>: These <i>certain men</i> pretended to be spiritual, but their only knowledge was really <i>natural</i>. Even what they knew <b><span class="c3">naturally</span></b>, they still used to corrupt themselves with an unspiritual mind.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Brute beasts</span></b> can be smart or clever in an instinctive way, but they obviously do not have spiritual knowledge. It was the same way with these <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "How ironical that when men should claim to be knowledgeable, they should actually be ignorant; when they think themselves superior to the common man they should actually be on the same level as animals, and be corrupted by the very practices in which they seek liberty and self-expression." (Green)</p>
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<p>D. Three examples of the <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,11);">11a</a>) The <i>certain men</i> have gone in the way of Cain.</p>
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<p class="c2">Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain,</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The way of Cain</span></b>: Cain's story is found in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',4,'1-');">Gen 4</a>. Each of the sons of Adam and Eve brought an offering to the Lord. Cain (being a farmer) brought an offering from his harvest. Abel (being a shepherd) brought an offering from his flocks. God accepted Abel's offering, but He rejected Cain's sacrifice.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many people assume that because Abel brought a blood sacrifice and Cain brought a grain sacrifice, that the difference between the two offerings was sacrificial blood. But the real difference was between <i>faith</i> and <i>unbelief</i>. <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',11,4);">Hbr 11:4</a> makes this plain: <i>By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Cain's sacrifice was probably more pleasing to the senses than the carcass of a dead lamb. But his sacrifice was offered without faith, and therefore it was unacceptable to God. You can give to God whatever you have or whatever you are, but you must offer it <i>in faith</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The way of Cain</span></b>: <a onclick="return mV('Gen',4,5);">Gen 4:5</a> says that after God rejected his sacrifice, <i>Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell</i>. He became angry because he knew he was rejected by God. In a fit of anger Cain murdered Abel, and then he lied about it to God.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,12);">1Jo 3:12</a> tells us that Cain murdered his brother because Abel's works were righteous (by faith), while Cain's own were wicked. Cain's lack was not in works, but in faith.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The way of Cain</span></b>: Jude says that Cain typifies a <b><span class="c3">way</span></b> that the <i>certain men</i> follow in. It is <b><span class="c3">the way of</span></b> unbelief and empty religion, which leads to jealousy, persecution of the truly godly, and eventually to murderous anger.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There is no greater curse on the earth than empty, vain religion; those who have <i>a form of godliness but denying its power.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Ti',3,5);">2Ti 3:5</a>) No wonder Paul added, <i>and from such people turn away!</i></p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Many Christians are afraid of secular humanism or atheism or the world. But dead religion is far more dangerous, and sends more people to hell than anything else. These <i>certain men</i> were <b><span class="c3">in the way of Cain</span></b>, they way of dead religion.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,11);">11b</a>) The <i>certain men</i> are in the error of Balaam.</p>
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<p class="c2">Have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit,</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The error of Balaam</span></b>: Balaam's story is in <a onclick="return mV('Num',22,'1-');">Num 22</a> to 25 and <a onclick="return mV('Num',31,'1-');">31</a>. During the time of the Exodus, Israel advanced to the land of Moab, after defeating the Amorites. When the Israelites came near, King Balak of Moab sought the help of a prophet named Balaam.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The first delegation from King Balak arrived and God told Balaam to have nothing to do with them. God's initial words to Balaam were, "<i>You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed</i>" (<a onclick="return mV('Num',22,12);">Num 22:12</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. After the first visit another, more prestigious delegation came with great riches. Balaam wanted to go with them and God allowed him to go. Balaam lusted after the riches and prestige offered to him and God gave him over to his own sin.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. God warned Balaam to turn back when he was on the way to see Balak. Yet his heart was set on the rich reward King Balak promised and he continued on. Balaam even ignored a talking donkey, sent to warn him to turn back.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Balaam knew that he has done wrong. In <a onclick="return mV('Num',22,34);">Num 22:34</a>, he said to God <i>I have sinned...Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back</i>. But he didn't turn back. He continued on, refusing to see that when God says no, we must take it as a no. Instead, God gave Balaam what his sinful heart desired.</p>
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<p class="c5">v. After meeting with King Balak of Moab, Balaam prophesied over Israel four times. But as he spoke forth God's word, he did not curse Israel – instead he blessed them each time. When he was unsuccessful in cursing Israel, Balaam advised Balak on how to bring Israel under a curse. Instead of trying to have a prophet curse them, he should lead them into fornication and idolatry and then God would curse a disobedient Israel.</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. Balak did just that, sending his young women into the camp of Israel to lead Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry. Because of their sin, God did curse Israel - He brought a plague of judgment upon Israel that killed 24,000. Therefore Balaam was guilty of the greatest of sins: deliberately leading others into sin. Worse yet, he did it for money.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Greedily in the error of Balaam for profit</span></b>: The greedy <b><span class="c3">error of Balaam</span></b> was that he was willing to compromise everything for money. The <i>certain men</i> Jude warned about had the same heart.</p>
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<p class="c5"><span> </span></p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many Christians would never deny Jesus under persecution, but might deny Him if offered a large sum of money. There is not a single sin that corrupt man will not commit for the sake of money. Covetousness is such a dangerous sin that it killed Jesus - 30 pieces of silver helped put Jesus on the cross.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Have run greedily</span></b> is literally "they were poured out" (Robertson). This is a strong picture of excessive indulgence. But Paul also uses the same term for the extravagant way God loves us: <i><span>the love of God has been poured out in our hearts.</span></i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',5,5);">Rom 5:5</a>)</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,11);">11c</a>) The <i>certain men</i> live out the rebellion of Korah.</p>
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<p class="c2">And perished in the rebellion of Korah.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The rebellion of Korah</span></b>: Korah's story is found in <a onclick="return mV('Num',16,'1-');">Num 16</a>. He was a prominent man in Israel, and one day came to Moses, saying, <i>You take too much upon yourself, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is among them. Why then do you exalt yourself about the congregation of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>?</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Num',16,3);">Num 16:3</a>) Korah and his followers resented the authority God gave to Moses and Aaron.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When Korah said this, Moses fell on his face, knowing God's judgment would soon come. Moses then proposed a test: each group took censers (for burning incense) and came before the Lord. The Lord Himself would choose which man He wanted to represent Him: Moses or Korah.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. When they both came before God, the Lord told Moses to step away. The, the ground opened up and swallowed Korah and his followers. After that, fire came down from heaven and burned up all of his supporters. They all <b><span class="c3">perished</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Rebellion</span></b>: Korah was a Levite, but not of the priestly family of Aaron. As a Levite, he had had his own God-appointed sphere of ministry, yet he was not content with it. He wanted the ministry and the authority of Moses.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Korah needed to learn this essential lesson: we should work hard to fulfill everything God has called us to be. At the same time, we should never try to be what God has <i>not</i> called us to be.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The</span></b> <b><span class="c3">rebellion of Korah</span></b>: This was also a rejection of God's appointed leaders, especially God's appointed Mediator. When the <i>certain men</i> rejected authority and spoke evil against dignitaries, they walked in <b><span class="c3">the rebellion of Korah</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The rebellion of Korah "lies in the broader idea of a contemptuous and determined assertion of self against divinely appointed ordinances." (Salmond, <i>The Pulpit Commentary</i>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. These three men came from quite different backgrounds: Cain was a farmer, Balaam was a prophet, and Korah was a leader in Israel. Apostasy is never confined to one group of people. "There are apostates in the pulpit, in the palace, and in the poorhouse." (Coder)</p>
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<p>E. What the future holds for these <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'12-13');">12-13</a>) A vivid description of the depravity of these <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving <i>only</i> themselves. <i>They are</i> clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Spots in your love feasts</span></b>: The early Christians often met for a common meal, something like a potluck dinner. They called these meals <b><span class="c3">love feats</span></b>, or "Agape Feasts." When these <i>certain men</i> came, they were <b><span class="c3">serving only themselves</span></b>. They ate greedily at the <b><span class="c3">love feasts</span></b> while others went hungry.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. At the Agape Feast, everybody brought what they could - some a little, some a lot; but they all shared it together. For some slaves who were Christians it might have been the only decent meal they regularly ate. The selfishness of these <i>certain men</i> spoiled the fellowship. <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',11,'17-34');">1Cr 11:17-34</a> describes a similar problem in the Corinthian church.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. It always spoils fellowship when we come to church with a selfish "bless me" attitude. Many who would never eat selfishly at a church meal still come to church concerned with <b><span class="c3">serving only themselves</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">Spots</span></b>: Some Greek scholars think this word should be translated "hidden rocks" instead of <b><span class="c3">spots</span></b>. One way or another, it doesn't make much real difference to the meaning of the passage.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. <b><span class="c3">Serving only themselves</span></b>: Literally in the ancient Greek this is "shepherding themselves" (Robertson). They were shepherds of a sort - but only shepherding <b><span class="c3">themselves</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Clouds without water, carried by the winds</span></b>: <b><span class="c3">Clouds</span></b> without water are good for nothing. They bring no life-giving rain and they only block out the sun. They exist just for themselves. The <i>certain men</i> were like these <b><span class="c3">clouds</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Once while driving by a factory, my daughter Aan-Sofie looked at the billows of white smoke coming from the smoke stacks. She said, "That's where they make clouds!" These <i>certain men</i> were like those empty clouds – good for nothing, <b><span class="c3">carried by the winds</span></b>, floating on the breeze from one fad to another.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Late autumn trees without fruit</span></b>: By <b><span class="c3">late autumn</span></b>, trees should have <b><span class="c3">fruit</span></b>. But these <i>certain men</i> did not bear <b><span class="c3">fruit</span></b> even when they should. They were like trees that only take instead of give.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Raging waves of the sea</span></b>: For modern man, the sea is often a thing of beauty. But to ancient man, especially in Biblical cultures, the sea was an unmanageable terror. <a onclick="return mV('Isa',57,20);">Isa 57:20</a> expresses this idea: <i>But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt</i>. These <i>certain men</i> were busy and active like the <b><span class="c3">raging waves of the sea</span></b>, but all it brought was <b><span class="c3">foaming up their own shame</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Busyness is no mark of correctness. The fruit of these men was like the foam or scum at the seashore. Jude has in mind the ugly shoreline after a storm has washed up all sorts of driftwood, seaweed and debris.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Wandering stars</span></b>: Like comets streaking through the sky, these <i>certain men</i> astonished the world for a time, and then vanished into darkness. An unpredictable star was no good for guidance and navigation. Even so these deceivers were useless and untrustworthy.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">Blackness of darkness forever</span></b>: This described their destiny. Unless they repent, they would end up in hell - and be there <b><span class="c3">forever</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The punishment of hell is <b><span class="c3">forever</span></b> because a <i>mere man</i> is paying for his own sins, offering an imperfect sacrifice which must be repeated over and over again for eternity. A perfect man can offer a single sacrifice; but an imperfect man must continually offer a sacrifice.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Our obligations to God are infinite and can therefore only be satisfied in Jesus, an infinite person</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'14-15');">14-15</a>) The certainty of judgment upon these <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Now Enoch</span></b>: Here Jude quoted from Enoch, who is described in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',5,'1-');">Gen 5</a> and mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',11,'1-');">Hbr 11</a>. The ancient book of Enoch was not received as Scripture, but it was highly respected among both the Jews and early Christians.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Tertullian tells us that the book of Enoch's prophecies were preserved by Noah in the ark, and that they continued and were read until the times of the apostles. But because they contained many famous testimonies concerning Jesus Christ, the Jews out of malice suppressed and abolished the whole book." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Jude did not quote from Enoch to tell us anything new, but to give a vivid description of what the Bible already teaches. The Apostle Paul also quoted non-Biblical sources on at least three different occasions (<a onclick="return mV('Act',17,28);">Act 17:28</a>; <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',15,33);">1Cr 15:33</a>, and <a onclick="return mV('Tts',1,12);">Tts 1:12</a>). This wasn't to proclaim a new truth, but to support an already established Biblical principle.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Jude's quoting of the book of Enoch doesn't mean that the whole book of Enoch inspired Scripture - only the portion Jude quotes. In the same way, when Paul quoted a pagan poet, he didn't mean that the entire work of the poet was inspired by God.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">To convict all who are ungodly</span></b>: In this quotation from the book of Enoch Jude emphasized the words <b><span class="c3">all</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">ungodly</span></b>. God is coming to judge <b><span class="c3">all</span></b> of the <b><span class="c3">ungodly</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">To execute judgment on all</span></b>: Many people take the <b><span class="c3">judgment</span></b> of God lightly. But the most important question in the world is "Will God judge me? Am I accountable to Him?" If we are truly accountable to God, they we are fools if we do not prepare to face that <b><span class="c3">judgment</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Think of someone arrested for a crime, with a date to appear in court - but made absolutely no preparation for their appearance before the judge. That person would be a fool. We shouldn't be so foolish, and instead take advantage of our court-appointed advocate – Jesus Christ (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',2,1);">1Jo 2:1</a>).</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'16-18');">16-18</a>) The methods of the <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling <i>words,</i> flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Grumblers, complainers...they mouth great swelling words, flattering people</span></b>: Jude noticed that their methods all revolved around <b><span class="c3">words</span></b>. On top of their questionable lives, they were essentially a people of deception, departing from the foundation of Jesus Christ, and the apostles and prophets.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">These are grumblers, complainers</span></b>: These people were <b><span class="c3">complainers</span></b>. It has rightly been observed that whenever a man gets out of touch with God he is likely to begin complaining about something.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Grumbling "is to insult the God who gives us all things; it is to forget that whatever befalls us, nothing can separate us from His love, nor deprive us of that most priceless of all treasures, the Lord's presence in our lives." (Green)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <span>"You know the sort of people alluded to here, nothing ever satisfies them. They are discontented even with the gospel. The bread of heaven must be cut into three pieces, and served on dainty napkins, or else they cannot eat it; and very soon their soul hates even this light bread. There is no way by which a Christian man can serve God so as to please them. They will pick holes in every preacher's coat; and if the great High Priest himself were here, they would find fault with the color of the stones of his breastplate." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Flattering people</span></b>: These <i>certain men</i> knew how to use smooth, flattering words to get an advantage over other people. They would say anything - good or bad - to get an advantage.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">But you, beloved, remember</span></b>: We are to be different. We are to remember what Jesus and the apostles said, <b><span class="c3">which were spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ</span></b>. The word of God is always the answer to dangers in or out of the church.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The apostles had warned that just these things would happen; and even more so as the day approaches: <i>For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Ti',4,'3-4');">2Ti 4:3-4</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">There would be mockers in the last time</span></b>: Perhaps Jude had in mind those who mock the idea of Jesus' return. Or he may mean the kind of men who mock those who don't go along the same path of destruction they travel on.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Mockers...who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts</span></b>: Those who live <b><span class="c3">according to their own ungodly lusts</span></b> love to mock those who want to please God. Jude wants Christians to <i>expect</i> this kind of mocking, so they won't be surprised by it.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,19);">19</a>) The spiritual status of these <i>certain men</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">These are sensual persons</span></b>: Essentially, these men were not <i>spiritual</i>; they were carnal and insensitive to the Holy Spirit.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Sensual</span></b> in this context has nothing to do with sexual attractiveness. It describes the person who lives only <i>by</i> and <i>for</i> what they can get through their physical senses, and they live this way selfishly. Their motto is, "If it feels good, do it" or, "How can it be wrong if it <i>feels</i> so right?"</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who cause divisions</span></b>: These <i>certain men</i> had an instinct to separate themselves and make <b><span class="c3">divisions</span></b>. "The word, found only once in the Bible, denotes those superior people who keep themselves to themselves - Christian Pharisees." (Green)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Not having the Spirit</span></b>: This same description could be written over many churches, or church projects, or evangelism campaigns, or home groups, or even individual Christian lives. The church and the world truly need genuinely <i>spiritual</i> men and women today.</p>
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<p>F. What to do about the danger of the <i>certain men</i>.<i></i></p>
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<p><i>Significantly, Jude does not tell us to attack the certain men who are a danger to the church. Instead, he tells us to focus on our walk with the Lord, help others affected by the certain men, and to focus on God. We simply are to pay the certain men no attention,</i> except <i>for what is necessary for our warning. God will take care of them.</i></p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'20-21');">20-21</a>) Take a look <i>inward</i>.</p>
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<p class="c2">But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Keep yourselves in the love of God</span></b>: We know that God loves even the ungodly (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',5,6);">Rom 5:6</a>). Therefore Jude doesn't mean, "Live in such a way to make yourself lovable to God." Instead, to <b><span class="c3">keep yourselves in the love of God</span></b> means to keep yourself in harmony with God's ever-present love.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. But we should understand what it means when the Bible says that God loves the ungodly. The significance of the idea that God loves us all has been twisted considerably. Consider the sinner who defends his sinful practice by saying "God loves me just the way I am." His implication is that "God loves me; I must be pretty good." Actually, the fact that God loves him is a reflection on <i>God's</i> goodness, not his own. The perspective isn't, "I'm so great that <i>even</i> God loves me," but "God is so great that He loves <i>even</i> me."</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. God's love extends everywhere, and nothing can separate us from it. But we can deny ourselves the benefits of God's love. People who don't <b><span class="c3">keep</span></b> themselves <b><span class="c3">in the love of God</span></b> end up living as if they are on the dark side of the moon. The sun is always out there, always shining, but they are never in a position to receive its light or warmth. An example of this is the Prodigal Son of <a onclick="return mV('Luk',15,'1-');">Luk 15</a>, who was always loved by the father, but for a time he did not benefit from it.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Building yourselves up on your most holy faith</span></b>: This is one way that we can keep ourselves in the love of God. It means to keep growing spiritually, and to keep building up. Jude tells us, "<b><span class="c3">build <i>yourselves</i> up on your most holy faith</span></b>." This means that we are responsible for our own spiritual growth. It means that we cannot wait for spiritual growth to just happen, or expect others to make us grow.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jude has shown us the frailty of men and how deceivers even infiltrated the church. If you entrust your spiritual growth to someone else, it will not only hurt your spiritual growth, but it may also lead you astray.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Others can help provide an environment conducive for spiritual growth. But no one can <i>make</i> another person grow in their relationship with the Lord.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">On your most holy faith</span></b>: The <b><span class="c3">most holy faith</span></b> is the same as <i>the faith once for all delivered to the saints</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,3);">Jud 1:3</a>). Jude wasn't talking about growing <i>in</i> <b><span class="c3">the most holy faith</span></b> (though that is a valid idea). Jude is talking about growing <b><span class="c3">on your most holy faith</span></b>. We grow <i>on the foundation of the truth.</i></p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Praying in the Holy Spirit</span></b>: This is another way to keep ourselves in the love of God. The battle against wrong living and wrong teaching is a spiritual battle, requiring prayer in the Holy Spirit.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many of our prayers are directed by our own needs, by our own intellects, or by our own wishes and desires. But there is a higher level of prayer:<i> Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',8,26);">Rom 8:26</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The Holy Spirit may help us pray by giving us the right words to say when we pray. He may speak through <i>groanings which cannot be uttered.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',8,26);">Rom 8:26</a>) Or the Holy Spirit may do it through the gift of tongues, a gift God gives to seeking hearts, which want to communicate with Him on a deeper level than normal conversation.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "Such is our sloth, and that such is the coldness of our flesh, that no one can pray aright except he be roused by the Spirit of God...no one can pray as he ought without having the Spirit as his guide." (Calvin)</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Looking for the mercy of Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life</span></b>: This is a third way that we can keep ourselves in the love of God. As we keep the blessed hope of Jesus' soon return alive in our hearts, this effectively keeps us in the love of God, and helps us to <i>not</i> give away our faith.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'22-23');">22-23</a>) Take a look <i>outward</i>, to those around you.</p>
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<p class="c2">And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling <i>them</i> out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">On some have compassion</span></b>: Jude begins here to tell us what we must do with those who have been influenced by these <i>certain men</i>. We need to make <b><span class="c3">a distinction</span></b>, based on where they are coming from. Certainly, <b><span class="c3">on some have compassion</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Using wisdom we approach different people in different manners. By being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we can know when we should comfort, and when we should rebuke. Christians should not abandon a friend flirting with false teaching. They should help him through it in love.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The means we continue to love them. No matter how bad a person is, or how misleading and terrible their doctrine, we are not allowed to hate them - or to be unconcerned for their salvation.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">Compassion</span></b> often means watching over someone, helping them with accountability. "Meantime watch over <u>others</u> as well as <u>yourselves</u>; and give them such help as their various needs require." (Wesley)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Others save with fear</span></b>: This second group must be confronted more strongly - but in <b><span class="c3">fear</span></b>, not in a sanctimonious superiority. You may need to pull <b><span class="c3">them out of the fire</span></b>, but never do it in pride.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This <i>outward</i> look is important. It demonstrates that we are not only concerned for our own spiritual welfare. It proves that we genuinely care about other Christians who are edging towards significant error.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,'24-25');">24-25</a>) Take a look upward to the God of all glory</p>
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<p class="c2">Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,<br>And to present <i>you</i> faultless<br>Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,<br>To God our Savior,<br>Who alone is wise,<br><i>Be</i> glory and majesty,<br>Dominion and power,<br>Both now and forever.<br>Amen.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Now to Him</span></b>: Jude closes the letter with a famous <i>doxology</i> (a brief declaration of praise to God). Jude's doxology reminds us of God's care and of our destiny.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present faultless</span></b>: Jude's message of warning and doom might have depressed and discouraged his readers. Perhaps they thought that with so much false teaching and immorality around, very few Christians would ever reach heaven. Here he reminds them that the answer lies only in the power of God. He <b><span class="c3">is able to keep you</span></b>, and you aren't able to keep yourself.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In mountain climbing, the beginning hiker attaches himself to the expert so that if he loses his footing he won't stumble and fall to his death. In the same manner, if we keep connected with God, we cannot fall. He keeps us safe.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. By comparing passages of Scripture, we also find out who is really responsible for our safe keeping. Jude began the letter by addressing those who are <i>preserved in Jesus</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,1);">Jud 1:1</a>). Then he exhorted Christians to avoid dangerous men and to keep themselves <i>in the love of God</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jud',1,21);">Jud 1:21</a>) Here at the end he concluded with the recognition that it is ultimately God who keeps us from stumbling and falling. Paul put the same idea in <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'12-13');">Phl 2:12-13</a>: <i>Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Keeping us spiritually safe <i>is</i> God's work. But you can always tell the people He is working in, because <i>they</i> are working also. God doesn't call us to simply let the Christian life happen to us and He doesn't command us to save ourselves. He calls us to a partnership with Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy</span></b>: As God is faithful, we won't have to slink shamefacedly into the presence of God. We can be presented before Him with <b><span class="c3">exceeding joy</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever</span></b>: This all reminds us of God's wisdom, glory, and power. Jude isn't trying to say that we can or should <i>give</i> these things to God. When we acknowledge and declare the truth about God, it glorifies Him. We aren't giving God more <b><span class="c3">majesty</span></b> or <b><span class="c3">power</span></b> than He had before; we are just recognizing and declaring it.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Both now and forever</span></b>: This could also be translated "unto all the ages." This is "as complete a statement of eternity as can be made in human language." (Robertson) Our victory, our triumph in God, is <b><span class="c3">forever</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. There is serious deception in the world and often among those called Christians. There are enemies of the gospel who have infiltrated the church. Yet despite the greatness of the threat, <i>God is greater still</i>. He wins, and if we will only stay with Him, we are guaranteed victory also.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Jude is a book full of warning, but it closes with supreme confidence in God. Dangerous times should make us trust in a mighty God.</p>
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