Today we will do something you may well have never done before: study the Letter of Jude. I am not sure I have ever heard a sermon on Jude or been in a Bible Study on Jude, although I have read it several times. That may be because it is short. Or it may be because it has some different things in it, such as quotes from the book of 1 Enoch and a reference to a writing called The Assumption of Moses.
Greeting
1-2
This is a letter rather than a book. Some call these letters epistles. This one has the classic Greek style, opening with the name of the writer, naming the recipients, and offering a blessing to the recipients.
The writer identified himself as Jude who was a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. Historically, he has been identified as one of the half brothers of Jesus and the brother of James. For example, Matthew 13:55 identifies the brothers of Jesus as James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. Since James was the head of the Jerusalem church, as seen in Acts 15, Jude may have been trying to convey an additional sense of authority for his letter.
We do not know when Jude came to believe in Jesus. It appears from stories in that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him during Jesus’ lifetime. When his mothers and brothers appeared outside a house where Jesus was teaching, he said his mother and brothers were those who believe. In Mark 3:21, the family went out to seize Jesus, saying he was out of his mind.
However, 1 Corinthians 15:7 says Jesus appeared to James after his resurrection. Then, in Acts 1:14, we see that when the disciples were gathered in the upper room praying, Mary and Jesus’ brothers were with them. So, it is possible that James believed upon seeing Jesus resurrected, and then led his brothers and sisters, including Jude, to believe as well. By the time he wrote this letter, about three decades after the resurrection, he considered himself a servant, or slave, of Jesus Christ. He had also been a missionary. (1 Corinthians 9:5)
Jude wrote the letter to a church, or as a letter to be circulated among many churches. He addressed his readers as those who are called, loved by the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.
Believers are members of the church and they were all called to to salvation. As Romans 8:28 says, they are those who are called by God according to his purpose.
Believers are loved by the Father. The are his beloved. Paul called the believers in Rome those who are loved by God and called to be saints. (Romans 1:7) He called the believers in Colassae God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. (Colossians 3:12)
And believers are kept by Christ. Nothing can take us away from him. Jesus said no one could snatch us out of his hand. (John 10:28)
The blessing in this greeting is that mercy, peace and love would be multiplied to them. He wanted God to give them mercy, peace and love in abundance.
False Teachers
3-4
As Jude transitioned to his purpose in writing, he again referred to them as “Beloved”. Given that he has just referred to them as “beloved in God the Father”, he is probably referring to that fact again. He was writing them as those whom God loved to give them instruction. The NIV translation of “dear friends” misses that point.
Although Jude wanted to write about salvation, he found in necessary to write to them to contend for the faith in the face of false teachers. Jude wanted them to strive intensely for the faith.
He called it “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”. (3) “Faith” here means the traditional teaching of the apostles.
The gospel was complete when it was delivered by Jesus and the apostles. It is not supplemented or corrected. It does not change. (So, any religion that purports to correct the Bible, or write other books to add to it as Scripture, must be contested.)
But there are people who want to pervert the gospel. By the time Jude wrote this letter, people had come into the church who sought to pervert God’s word. Jude said they crept in, indicating a sort of sneakiness.
The people were designated for condemnation long ago. (4) God knew they would appear and decided they would face judgment for what they did. This is in line with Proverbs 16:4, which says “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble”.
They wanted two things: (1) to pervert God’s grace into sensuality and (2) to deny Christ as Lord.
There were those who taught that grace and forgiveness meant you had a license to sin. (4) This seems to involve sexual immorality since Jude mentioned sensuality. We know that, instead of a license to sin, we have a call to holy living.
These people also denied Jesus as our only Master (NIV says Sovereign) and Lord. They rejected his authority over their lives while still claiming to be Christians. They wanted to be free to make up their own rules for living.
Judgment on False Teachers
5-16
Jude wrote that there would be judgment for false teachers in verse 4, saying they were designated for condemnation long ago or that their condemnation was written about long ago. To prove his case, he referred to the Old Testament in three stories.
First, Jude reminded them that, after Jesus saved a people, Israel, from Egypt, he destroyed those who did not believe. He was referring to those who refused to enter the promised land and were condemned to wander in the wilderness until the whole generation died. (5) (Numbers 14)
This shows us that an initial decision to commit to Christ will not ensure salvation if one later rejects him and refuses to follow him. This would include the false teachers in Jude’s time. Commitment to Christ requires that we stand for him and we demonstrate genuine faith when we do so. Perseverance in the faith is the sign of true faith and salvation, not saying magic words.
Second, Jude referred to angels who left their positions of authority and were kept in chains of gloomy darkness until the final judgment, when they would be cast into hell with Satan. This refers to the events of Genesis 6:1-4 when (fallen) angels took human women as wives. God punished these angels for leaving their proper sphere and function. I do not think they are in literal chains, but they are confined and restricted, unable to enjoy god’s presence and experiencing everlasting torment.
This story is discussed in detail in the Book of Enoch, which is in the Apocrypha. Verses 14-15 also refer to this story in Enoch. Jude’s audience would have been aware of the Book of Enoch and this story, so the brief reference was enough for them to understand Jude’s point. Those who were once in God’s favor, lost it because they rebelled against him.
Third, God judged and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their sexual immorality, their pride and lack of concern for the poor (Ezekiel 16:49). Their destruction is a type of punishment by eternal fire. (7) In other words, it was a type of hell. This story is in Genesis 19.
Jude used these three examples to show that God will indeed judge and punish those who pervert his Word.
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