Wise to be guarded.
Lessons in Jude.
“1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” – Jude 1:1-4
Recently my kids participated in Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church and the theme verse this year they memorized was:
“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” - Acts 2:28
The Path of Life.
The scriptures repeat the phrase ‘path of life’ (Psalm 16:11, Proverbs 2:19, Proverbs 12:28, Proverbs 15:24, Acts 2:28). Another phrase repeated is the ‘path of righteousness’ (Psalm 23:3, Proverbs 2:20, Proverbs 4:18, Proverbs 8:20, Proverbs 12:28, and Isaiah 26:7).
So what is the path of life for a believer in Christ? What are things we should concern ourselves about? How do we make sure we are on the right path? Who and want to do we seek counsel from to follow Christ daily? Jesus showed us the path of life is a relationship with Him, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” - Psalm 119:105
In the of the Letter or Epistle of Jude, he provides a major warning that can be summed up by the the Psalmist, some commentators say this is the center verse of the entire bible:
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” - Psalm 118:8.
Back to the warning in the Epistle of Jude, the concern that Jude writes is about false teachers infiltrating the churches in the 1st century Roman Empire. Leaders in the early church were being martyred including Paul, Peter and soon to be James, leading to a leadership crisis.
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) referred to false teachers in the church as “False Professors, Unclean Professors, Unloving Professors, Self-Righteous Professors”. Jude characterized false teachers as:
Divisive (Jude 1:19).
Fault finders (Jude 1:16).
Flatterers to their own advantage (Jude 1:16).
Godless (Jude 1:4)
Immoral (Jude 1:4), sexually immoral and follow own lusts (Jude 1:7, (Jude 1:16).
Profiting prophets like Balaam (Jude 1:11).
Rebellious, defy and reject authorities like Korah (Jude 1:8).
Selfish. Shepherds who feed only themselves. Lovers of Self. (Jude 1:12, Jude 1:16)
Slandering and destroying others like Cain (Jude 1:11, Jude 1:15).
Unfruitful (Jude 1:12).
Now, I am sure today anyone on a Pastoral Search Committee would be wise to not hire anyone reflecting the above qualities. Followers of Christ, it is wise to be guarded, don’t just accept any form of teaching from the pulpit or in the church. The letter of Jude was a warning to the church in the past and today. Consider the fruitfulness of the way of life of those who lead and remind ourselves that we follow Christ as our Good Shepherd, let’s tune into hearing His Voice.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” - Proverbs 4:23
What is false teaching that believers today should be on guard against?
For me, I see today some believers think they can do the Christian life apart from being a part of a local church/faith community. With the advent of online communication, some feel they can do church without in-person interaction. Perhaps it’s church hurt or other reasons, but seek out wise counsel and be encouraged that the local church should be a place to build, heal, serve, and witness for Jesus among other things. (See these verses on the church: Matthew 16:18, 1st Corinthians 12:12-31, 1st Corinthians 14:12, Ephesians 2:19-21, Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 10:24-25, James 5:14). I like this quote by Eugene Peterson:
“When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business – and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It’s similar with sinners outside the church. So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced and dealt with.” - Eugene Peterson, Introduction to the Book of James, The Message
Email me for my overview of the Epistle of Jude at: thesaltandlightdaily@gmail.com or comment or message me to request.
Thanks @Earnest Contender