June 3, 2025 • 31 mins
Jude's letter to the early church provides a powerful warning about false teachers who crept into the church, perverting God's grace and denying Christ's authority. We examine how this brother of Jesus calls believers to contend earnestly for the faith while providing three historical examples of God's judgment against apostasy.
• Jude identifies himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James," showing his transformation from unbelief to faithful service
• The letter addresses those who are "called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ"
• False teachers had secretly infiltrated the church, twisting grace into license for immorality
• Believers must "contend earnestly for the faith" like spiritual athletes in a competition
• Jude provides three examples of God's judgment: unbelieving Israelites after the exodus, fallen angels who abandoned their proper position, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
• The letter reveals deep theological insights, including Jesus' role in Israel's exodus from Egypt
• These warnings remain relevant for today's church as we guard against those who would corrupt biblical truth
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're going to be divinginto the book of Jude, and when
I say we're diving in Jude isdeep waters of church doctrine
and theology.
Some may find thiscontroversial, and rightfully so
(00:23):
, because Jude addresses falseteaching in the church.
Let's begin with verse 1.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christand brother of James.
To those who are called belovedin God the Father and kept for
Jesus Christ, may mercy, peaceand love be multiplied to you.
(00:45):
Jude begins his letter speakingof himself as a servant of
Jesus Christ and the brother ofJames.
It's widely accepted that Judeis short for Judas, and Judas
was the brother of Jesus.
Here Jude calls himself theservant of Jesus Christ and
(01:06):
brother of James.
It is significant that Judecalls himself the servant of
Jesus Christ here because bothJude and James have now
surrendered to the lordship ofJesus Christ as their master and
as the Messiah.
As their master and as theMessiah, jude was a young boy
that grew up right alongsideJesus, and that makes Jude's
(01:36):
testimony very significant as aneyewitness of Jesus Christ.
Some scripture that points outJudas in the New Testament as
Jesus's brother is Matthew 13,55 and Mark 6, 3.
Matthew 13.55 and Mark 6.3.
Jude and James are two of theblood sons of Mary and Joseph
and growing up, and even inJesus's ministry, they didn't
believe that Jesus was theChrist.
In fact, they didn't believeJesus was the Christ until after
(01:59):
his resurrection.
That can be found in Mark 3, 20and 21 and John 7 5, and as we
speak of Jude and James asJesus's brothers, and even as
scripture speaks of Jude andJames as Jesus's brothers, I
think it's important for us toconsider how Jesus was not their
(02:21):
blood brother or evenhalf-brother, as sometimes we
refer to Jesus, as Jesus was, infact, fully the product of the
Holy Spirit, bringing forth asecond Adam in the womb of Mary,
while Mary had the privilege ofcarrying Jesus Christ.
The person of Jesus Christ wasfully the creation of God, the
(02:48):
Holy Spirit.
The letter of Jude addressesthose who are called, beloved in
God the Father and kept forJesus Christ.
This is speaking of believerswho are born again, those who
are the children of God Romans1.7,.
1 Corinthians 1.24.
They are beloved by God theFather as his own family 1
(03:13):
Thessalonians 1.4,.
2 Thessalonians 2.13.
And as such, believers are nowkept as part of God's family
until the very day that Jesusreturns John 17, 11 and 1
Thessalonians 5, 23.
And the attitude that Jude hastowards those who are part of
(03:38):
God's family is that he gives agreeting of mercy.
Peace and love Be multiplied toyou.
The greeting of mercy and peacewas actually a common Jewish
greeting, but Jude adds love toit, making it uniquely Christian
.
This shows Jude's heart towardsthose who have received God's
(04:01):
mercy and forgiveness, who havethe peace that passes
understanding in their heartsand who have received God's love
expressed through Jesus Christ,and express God's love towards
others.
Picking up in verse 3, judebegins the main content of his
(04:24):
letter and he says Beloved,although I was very eager to
write you about our commonsalvation, I found it necessary
to write appealing to you tocontend for the faith that was
once delivered to the saints.
In verse 3, jude gets right tothe point.
He says that, out of love forhis readers, as an elder, he
(04:49):
wanted to be able to write tothem about the common salvation
that he shares with those whogenuinely know Jesus Christ.
He would have liked to writethis letter about that salvation
that they share, but he says hefound it necessary to do
otherwise.
There are present circumstancesin the church that compelled
(05:14):
Jude to write how imposters andapostates have become part of
the church and now they need tocontend for the faith Because of
these apostates that havebecome part of the church.
And now they need to contendfor the faith Because of these
apostates that have become partof the church.
Jude now gives specificinstructions to the believers on
how to contend earnestly forthe faith.
(05:36):
The root of the word contendhere in Greek.
It means to compete like anathlete.
It means to strive and separateoneself from others.
It means to enter in like acombatant.
Jude recognizes what the ApostlePaul recognized that the
(05:56):
believer is in a spiritualbattle and they are to contend,
they are to be engaged in thebattle.
The prophet Ezekiel oncerecognized this very same thing.
In Ezekiel 3, 16-21,.
He wrote At the end of sevendays, the word of the Lord came
(06:17):
to me.
Son of man, I have made you awatchman for the house of Israel
.
Whenever you hear a word frommy mouth, you shall give them a
warning from me.
If I say to the wicked, youshall surely die and you give
him no warning, nor speak towarn the wicked from his wicked
(06:38):
way in order to save his life.
That wicked person shall diefor his iniquity, but his blood
I will require at your hand.
But if you warn the wicked andhe does not turn from his
wickedness or from his wickedway, he shall die from his
iniquity, but you will havedelivered your soul.
(07:01):
Again, if a righteous personturns from his righteousness and
commits injustice and I lay astumbling block before him he
shall die Because you have notwarned him.
He shall die for his sin andhis righteous deeds that he's
done will not be remembered, buthis blood I will require at
(07:23):
your hand.
But if you warn the righteousperson not to sin and he does
not sin, he shall surely livebecause he took the warning and
you will have delivered yoursoul.
Getting back to Jude, I believeJude understood that the Holy
Spirit-inspired and filledchurch of the New Testament was
(07:46):
to be much like the prophetEzekiel.
They were to be watchmen forthe church.
That's why he says contend forthe faith that was once
delivered to all the saints.
Now I think it's important thatwe understand what Jude is
saying when he says the faiththat was once delivered to all
(08:09):
the saints.
The faith that it's speakingabout here is referring to the
message about Jesus Christ, theNew Testament.
As we know, it was not compiledat the time Jude was writing
this.
As we know, it was not compiledat the time Jude was writing
this.
What Jude is writing about isthe same thing Luke wrote about
(08:30):
in Acts 2.42, when he said thatthey devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to thefellowship and to the breaking
of bread and prayers.
It's the same thing the apostlePaul wrote about in Romans 10,
8-10, when he said the word isnear you, in your mouth and in
(08:50):
your heart.
That is the word of faith thatwe proclaim, because if you
confess with your mouth thatJesus is Lord and you believe in
your heart that God raised himfrom the dead, you will be saved
.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, and with the
(09:10):
mouth one confesses and is saved.
The Apostle Paul also wroteabout this in 1 Corinthians 15,
1-4, when he said 1-4,.
When he said Now I would remindyou, brothers, of the gospel I
preached to you, which youreceived, in which you stand and
(09:36):
by which you are being saved ifyou hold fast to the word that
I preached to you, unless youbelieved in vain, for I
delivered to you as of firstimportance what I also received
that Christ died for our sins inaccordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried and that hewas raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scripture.
So what Jude is speaking abouthere in verse 3, the faith that
(10:03):
was once for all delivered tothe saints is the message about
Jesus Christ.
It refers to the salvation thatcomes through the crucifixion
at the cross, the forgiveness ofsins that has been delivered
once for all through JesusChrist to all who believe.
(10:23):
This message of faith, known asthe teaching or the didache,
was given by Jesus Christ to theapostles.
It was given from the apostlesto the church.
The apostle Paul once told hisprodigy Timothy to defend the
faith continually.
In 1 Timothy 6.12, he wrote.
(10:46):
Verse 4 of Jude continuessaying here in verse 4, jude
(11:27):
gives the specific reason why itis necessary to contend for the
faith Because there areapostates that have posed as
true believers and they've creptinto the church.
The phrase crept here that Judeuses describes these apostates
coming in as unnoticed with evilintentions.
They desire to take advantageof the church while corrupting
(11:51):
true believers with theirperverse teachings.
They attack the church fromwithin, posing as if they're
smarter than the leadership ofthe church when in fact, they
pose the greatest threat to thechurch, often confusing and
(12:14):
throwing the church intodivision.
These people will attack God'sword and his truth, and this
goes all the way back to theGarden of Eden, when Satan
twisted God's word and convincedEve to disobey God.
Ever since that event in theGarden of Eden, old Testament
prophets, our Lord Jesus and theapostles of the New Testament
(12:34):
have warned us that this attackon divine truth would continue
until the day Jesus Christ comesonce and for all to establish a
new kingdom in which there isno error and truth reigns divine
as the person of Jesus Christ.
(12:55):
Jude tells us that long agothese people were designated for
condemnation.
As we mentioned, the prophetsof old made many predictions
concerning false teachers.
Some of those predictions areIsaiah 8, 20-22, jeremiah 5,
13-14, hosea 9, 7 9, zephaniah 3, 1 through 8, and the Apostle
(13:23):
Peter speaks of it in 2 Peter 2,1 through 3.
Furthermore, jude points outhow the judgment of God is upon
these apostates, and it issevere.
The Greek word that describesthey were designated for
condemnation implies that longago God had marked these people
(13:45):
out for damnation.
As I say that I want to mentionone thing If you have a
conviction that this may bespeaking toward you and you feel
a call to repent of your sin,know that conviction is good.
God wants us to turn from oursin and trust in Jesus Christ
alone, as we will see, thisletter of Jude calls the church
(14:10):
to bring people out of apostateteaching and into eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christalone.
Verse 4 continues that thesepeople that were designated for
condemnation pervert the graceof our God into sensuality.
It's always true of apostatesand false teachers that they use
(14:35):
the grace of God to continue inungodly behavior.
While they claim to belong toGod, even speaking for him,
their hearts are far from themessage of repentance from sin
and salvation in Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for sensualityhere means gross immorality or
(14:59):
unrestrained vice.
It describes a shamelesslifestyle of someone that
flaunts their sin.
These people are takingadvantage of God's grace with
their immorality and while theyclaim to know and speak the
truth of God, while they claimto know Jesus and the scripture,
(15:20):
they twist all of it to justifya lifestyle of sin.
And Jude says they deny ouronly master and Lord, jesus
Christ.
Jude very appropriately uses thetitle master as well as the
title Lord, to emphasize howthese people shamelessly take
(15:45):
advantage of the grace of GodThrough their open rebellion
against the very one they claimto follow.
They reject his lordship.
They reject Jesus Christ astheir master ship.
They reject Jesus Christ astheir master.
In fact, they view themselvesas their master.
(16:05):
They believe in themselves, ifyou will.
For anyone that genuinely knowsJesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior, and they've tasted ofthe true forgiveness that comes
from God, they would never usegrace as a license to sin.
Some verses that express thisare Romans 6, 1 and 2, galatians
5, 13, 1 Peter 2, 16, 2 Peter 2, 19.
(16:32):
Therefore, these apostates, orfalse teachers, deny Christ.
They deny him his position asGod, they deny him his position
as king and, ultimately, theydeny him his position as savior
and messiah of their souls, allwhile they profess to know him.
(16:55):
As Titus 1.6 reads, theyprofess to know God, but they
deny him by their works.
They are detestable,disobedient, unfit for any good
work.
Verse 5 of Jude continues.
(17:15):
Now I want to remind you,although you once fully knew it,
that Jesus, who saved a peopleout of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those whodid not believe.
Here in verse 5, jude begins touse examples of apostates to
show how God deals with themamongst his people.
(17:37):
How God deals with them amongsthis people.
His first example is how Jesussaved a people out of the land
of Egypt.
When I told you that Jude goesdeep into theology in these 22
verses, well, here's anotherexample.
Jude tells us here in verse 5,that it was Jesus who saved a
(17:58):
people out of the land of Egypt.
It's quite significant, as Ithink this is the only place in
scripture that clarifies how itwas actually Jesus who brought
the people out of Egypt.
Jesus, the Son of God, hasalways been the Savior of God's
people, always been the saviorof God's people.
(18:24):
Jude uses this example ofunbelievers who were among God's
people as an example ofapostates.
While God delivered all ofIsrael out of Egypt, there were
false teachers as well as manyunbelievers with them, and Jude
tells us that afterwards, goddestroyed those who did not
believe.
In fact, god destroyed almostan entire generation of Israel
(18:47):
by taking them 40 years throughthe desert because they gave in
to fear.
They refused to trust in God'spromise to bring them safely
into the promised land.
It was only Caleb and Joshuawho were kept alive amongst that
generation because they didn'tfear the sons of Anak.
(19:08):
Some verses that speak to thisare Numbers 14, 6-9, 1
Corinthians 10, 1-18, hebrews 3,16-19.
This example of Israel'sunbelief as a whole shows us
clearly how God deals withanyone among his people who
(19:29):
hears his word but they fail totrust it, teacher or not.
Hebrews 3, 7-12 speaks clearlyof this.
Verse 6 of Jude reads and theangels who did not stay within
their own position of authoritybut left their proper dwelling
he has kept in eternal chainsunder gloomy darkness until the
(19:53):
judgment of the great day.
Here we go again, another versein Jude that goes very deep.
The second example here thatJude uses of apostates are
apostate angels, and the wordangel here actually refers to
fallen angels or demons.
(20:14):
The fact that these angels arenot specifically identified by
Jude tells us that he assumedhis audience was very familiar
with the details of the accounthe's speaking of.
Jude says these angels didn'tstay within their own position
of authority.
Angels do have a position ofauthority to govern in the
(20:39):
heavens and that position ofauthority is just above men.
Hebrews 2, 6 and 7 speaks ofthis.
It reads Hebrews teaches usthat man's position of authority
(21:10):
is just under the angels, andJude's reference here describes
how these fallen angels didn'tremain in their position of
authority, their position in theheavenlies, but instead Jude
says they left their properdwelling.
Now just for some clarificationangels can take on human form as
(21:33):
messengers and to giveassistance to men at the
permission of God.
But angels are not to interactwith mankind on a regular basis
and they are not to do sowithout the permission of God,
only when God has a specificpurpose and has ordained it.
(21:54):
The angels leaving their properdwelling here speaks of an
event back in Genesis 6, 1-4,when fallen angels left their
heavenly dwelling and they tookwives among the men.
This was an angelic apostasy,where demons took on the bodies
(22:15):
of men and cohabitated with menoutside the permission of God,
and they did so to satisfy theirown lustful cravings.
In the next verse, jude isgoing to compare Sodom and
Gomorrah to this event with theangels.
He's going to paint a pictureof how these angels left what
(22:37):
was natural for angels andparticipated in something
unnatural.
They left God's ordered designfor something unnatural, an
unnatural lust.
Finally, jude says that God haskept them in eternal chains and
in gloomy darkness.
(23:00):
The Apostle Peter also talksabout these angels that sinned
and that they're kept in chainsIn 2 Peter 2.4, which reads when
they sinned but cast them intothe abyss and committed them to
chains of gloomy darkness to bekept until judgment.
(23:24):
These angels that are spoken ofhere in Jude and also by the
Apostle Peter are clearlyspecific angels.
They're angels that we are nowtold are chained in the abyss
awaiting judgment.
While they were once part ofSatan's rebellion here on earth,
(23:46):
roaming the earth and prowlingthe earth with Satan trying to
destroy mankind, they left theirproper dwelling in the
heavenlies and they are nolonger free to prowl about the
earth, but instead they arechained in the abyss.
The Apostle Peter also in hisletters, much like Jude does
(24:07):
here, also uses a comparison toSodom and Gomorrah when speaking
of these events, and theApostle Peter places these
events during the time of Noah.
Now I know that what I've justspoken about fallen angels may
be difficult for some people tounderstand or agree with, and
(24:28):
it's okay if we're not on theexact same page and it's all
right if we're still growing andunderstanding in what the
scripture teaches about thesethings, because this is very
deep theology.
But Jude's overall point withthese apostate angels is to show
(24:48):
us how God will judge those whoreject the authority that's
intrinsic in his design.
For example, many people todayreject God's design of the
family, god's design ofgovernment or God's design for
the church.
(25:08):
Instead, today, apostatesintentionally twist the truth of
God's word to satisfy their ownlusts for power and their own
lust for sin.
Jude 7 reads Just as Sodom andGomorrah and the surrounding
cities, which likewise indulgedin sexual immorality and pursued
(25:32):
unnatural desire, serve as anexample by undergoing punishment
of eternal fire.
Jude's third example ofapostasy is Sodom and Gomorrah,
but he does tie it directly backto his second example of the
angels.
Sodom and Gomorrah are used inScripture over 20 times as
(25:57):
examples of God's judgment onimmorality and the rejection of
the gospel message.
Jude's example of Sodom andGomorrah as apostates shows us
the wrath of God is in factagainst all of mankind who, by
their unrighteous acts, suppressthe truth about God's design,
(26:19):
which is made clear to all ofmankind by creation itself, as
Romans 1, 19 and 20 read,perceived ever since the
(26:49):
creation of the world in thethings that have been made.
So they are without excuse.
Here, in verse 7, jude uses thephrase sexual immorality and
unnatural desire.
Because we live in such an agewhere this is so confused, I'm
going to give a shortclarification on these two terms
.
Sexual immorality refers to anysexual desire or act outside of
(27:14):
a lifelong marital relationshipbetween one man and one woman.
There is no one on earth thathas not struggled with some type
of sexual immorality.
What Jude is speaking of hereis that these apostates indulge
in their sexual immorality.
(27:35):
They have no breaking system.
They do not say no to what theyknow be wrong.
Jude also speaks of unnaturaldesire.
An unnatural desire refers todesires that are against the
natural order.
The Greek word literally meansa different flesh.
(27:57):
Such examples would be mendesiring to sleep with men,
women desiring to sleep withwomen, angels, as we learned
earlier, sleeping with women, ormen sleeping with animals, etc.
Jude also emphasizes how itwasn't just Sodom and Gomorrah
(28:18):
that were destroyed, but thedestruction was so large that it
encompassed the surroundingcities as well, because they too
had become engulfed in thesexual immorality that had
overtaken Sodom and Gomorrah.
This stands as an example ofhow this kind of apostasy, this
(28:41):
kind of immorality, spreadsamongst mankind.
Jude says that they serve as anexample by undergoing a
punishment of eternal fire.
Sodom and Gomorrah are indeedexamples and a warning to all of
(29:01):
the earth, a warning of thereality that one day God will
destroy everything, the wholeearth, the same way he did.
Sodom and Gomorrah 2 Peter,3.10 reads will be burned up and
(29:30):
dissolved and the earth and theworks that are done in it will
be exposed.
God will cast those who do notbelieve into an eternal lake of
fire.
Many people today deny eternalpunishment, but Jesus warned us
of it again and again.
Scripture is very clear thatthe lake of fire is real
Revelation 20, 13-15 reads.
(29:53):
And the sea gave up their deadwho were in it.
Death and Hades gave up thedead who were in them and they
were judged, each one of them,according to what they had done.
And death and Hades were asJude says.
This should be a strong examplefor all of the world that if we
(30:28):
continue in our sin and willnot repent and turn to Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior,we will perish in the fire.
We're going to break herebefore picking up in verse 8
next week.
I want to thank each of you forjoining me for these first
seven verses in Jude.
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Today we're going to be divinginto the book of Jude, and when
I say we're diving in Jude isdeep waters of church doctrine
and theology.
Some may find thiscontroversial, and rightfully so
(00:23):
, because Jude addresses falseteaching in the church.
Let's begin with verse 1.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christand brother of James.
To those who are called belovedin God the Father and kept for
Jesus Christ, may mercy, peaceand love be multiplied to you.
(00:45):
Jude begins his letter speakingof himself as a servant of
Jesus Christ and the brother ofJames.
It's widely accepted that Judeis short for Judas, and Judas
was the brother of Jesus.
Here Jude calls himself theservant of Jesus Christ and
(01:06):
brother of James.
It is significant that Judecalls himself the servant of
Jesus Christ here because bothJude and James have now
surrendered to the lordship ofJesus Christ as their master and
as the Messiah.
As their master and as theMessiah, jude was a young boy
that grew up right alongsideJesus, and that makes Jude's
(01:36):
testimony very significant as aneyewitness of Jesus Christ.
Some scripture that points outJudas in the New Testament as
Jesus's brother is Matthew 13,55 and Mark 6, 3.
Matthew 13.55 and Mark 6.3.
Jude and James are two of theblood sons of Mary and Joseph
and growing up, and even inJesus's ministry, they didn't
believe that Jesus was theChrist.
In fact, they didn't believeJesus was the Christ until after
(01:59):
his resurrection.
That can be found in Mark 3, 20and 21 and John 7 5, and as we
speak of Jude and James asJesus's brothers, and even as
scripture speaks of Jude andJames as Jesus's brothers, I
think it's important for us toconsider how Jesus was not their
(02:21):
blood brother or evenhalf-brother, as sometimes we
refer to Jesus, as Jesus was, infact, fully the product of the
Holy Spirit, bringing forth asecond Adam in the womb of Mary,
while Mary had the privilege ofcarrying Jesus Christ.
The person of Jesus Christ wasfully the creation of God, the
(02:48):
Holy Spirit.
The letter of Jude addressesthose who are called, beloved in
God the Father and kept forJesus Christ.
This is speaking of believerswho are born again, those who
are the children of God Romans1.7,.
1 Corinthians 1.24.
They are beloved by God theFather as his own family 1
(03:13):
Thessalonians 1.4,.
2 Thessalonians 2.13.
And as such, believers are nowkept as part of God's family
until the very day that Jesusreturns John 17, 11 and 1
Thessalonians 5, 23.
And the attitude that Jude hastowards those who are part of
(03:38):
God's family is that he gives agreeting of mercy.
Peace and love Be multiplied toyou.
The greeting of mercy and peacewas actually a common Jewish
greeting, but Jude adds love toit, making it uniquely Christian
.
This shows Jude's heart towardsthose who have received God's
(04:01):
mercy and forgiveness, who havethe peace that passes
understanding in their heartsand who have received God's love
expressed through Jesus Christ,and express God's love towards
others.
Picking up in verse 3, judebegins the main content of his
(04:24):
letter and he says Beloved,although I was very eager to
write you about our commonsalvation, I found it necessary
to write appealing to you tocontend for the faith that was
once delivered to the saints.
In verse 3, jude gets right tothe point.
He says that, out of love forhis readers, as an elder, he
(04:49):
wanted to be able to write tothem about the common salvation
that he shares with those whogenuinely know Jesus Christ.
He would have liked to writethis letter about that salvation
that they share, but he says hefound it necessary to do
otherwise.
There are present circumstancesin the church that compelled
(05:14):
Jude to write how imposters andapostates have become part of
the church and now they need tocontend for the faith Because of
these apostates that havebecome part of the church.
And now they need to contendfor the faith Because of these
apostates that have become partof the church.
Jude now gives specificinstructions to the believers on
how to contend earnestly forthe faith.
(05:36):
The root of the word contendhere in Greek.
It means to compete like anathlete.
It means to strive and separateoneself from others.
It means to enter in like acombatant.
Jude recognizes what the ApostlePaul recognized that the
(05:56):
believer is in a spiritualbattle and they are to contend,
they are to be engaged in thebattle.
The prophet Ezekiel oncerecognized this very same thing.
In Ezekiel 3, 16-21,.
He wrote At the end of sevendays, the word of the Lord came
(06:17):
to me.
Son of man, I have made you awatchman for the house of Israel
.
Whenever you hear a word frommy mouth, you shall give them a
warning from me.
If I say to the wicked, youshall surely die and you give
him no warning, nor speak towarn the wicked from his wicked
(06:38):
way in order to save his life.
That wicked person shall diefor his iniquity, but his blood
I will require at your hand.
But if you warn the wicked andhe does not turn from his
wickedness or from his wickedway, he shall die from his
iniquity, but you will havedelivered your soul.
(07:01):
Again, if a righteous personturns from his righteousness and
commits injustice and I lay astumbling block before him he
shall die Because you have notwarned him.
He shall die for his sin andhis righteous deeds that he's
done will not be remembered, buthis blood I will require at
(07:23):
your hand.
But if you warn the righteousperson not to sin and he does
not sin, he shall surely livebecause he took the warning and
you will have delivered yoursoul.
Getting back to Jude, I believeJude understood that the Holy
Spirit-inspired and filledchurch of the New Testament was
(07:46):
to be much like the prophetEzekiel.
They were to be watchmen forthe church.
That's why he says contend forthe faith that was once
delivered to all the saints.
Now I think it's important thatwe understand what Jude is
saying when he says the faiththat was once delivered to all
(08:09):
the saints.
The faith that it's speakingabout here is referring to the
message about Jesus Christ, theNew Testament.
As we know, it was not compiledat the time Jude was writing
this.
As we know, it was not compiledat the time Jude was writing
this.
What Jude is writing about isthe same thing Luke wrote about
(08:30):
in Acts 2.42, when he said thatthey devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to thefellowship and to the breaking
of bread and prayers.
It's the same thing the apostlePaul wrote about in Romans 10,
8-10, when he said the word isnear you, in your mouth and in
(08:50):
your heart.
That is the word of faith thatwe proclaim, because if you
confess with your mouth thatJesus is Lord and you believe in
your heart that God raised himfrom the dead, you will be saved
.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, and with the
(09:10):
mouth one confesses and is saved.
The Apostle Paul also wroteabout this in 1 Corinthians 15,
1-4, when he said 1-4,.
When he said Now I would remindyou, brothers, of the gospel I
preached to you, which youreceived, in which you stand and
(09:36):
by which you are being saved ifyou hold fast to the word that
I preached to you, unless youbelieved in vain, for I
delivered to you as of firstimportance what I also received
that Christ died for our sins inaccordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried and that hewas raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scripture.
So what Jude is speaking abouthere in verse 3, the faith that
(10:03):
was once for all delivered tothe saints is the message about
Jesus Christ.
It refers to the salvation thatcomes through the crucifixion
at the cross, the forgiveness ofsins that has been delivered
once for all through JesusChrist to all who believe.
(10:23):
This message of faith, known asthe teaching or the didache,
was given by Jesus Christ to theapostles.
It was given from the apostlesto the church.
The apostle Paul once told hisprodigy Timothy to defend the
faith continually.
In 1 Timothy 6.12, he wrote.
(10:46):
Verse 4 of Jude continuessaying here in verse 4, jude
(11:27):
gives the specific reason why itis necessary to contend for the
faith Because there areapostates that have posed as
true believers and they've creptinto the church.
The phrase crept here that Judeuses describes these apostates
coming in as unnoticed with evilintentions.
They desire to take advantageof the church while corrupting
(11:51):
true believers with theirperverse teachings.
They attack the church fromwithin, posing as if they're
smarter than the leadership ofthe church when in fact, they
pose the greatest threat to thechurch, often confusing and
(12:14):
throwing the church intodivision.
These people will attack God'sword and his truth, and this
goes all the way back to theGarden of Eden, when Satan
twisted God's word and convincedEve to disobey God.
Ever since that event in theGarden of Eden, old Testament
prophets, our Lord Jesus and theapostles of the New Testament
(12:34):
have warned us that this attackon divine truth would continue
until the day Jesus Christ comesonce and for all to establish a
new kingdom in which there isno error and truth reigns divine
as the person of Jesus Christ.
(12:55):
Jude tells us that long agothese people were designated for
condemnation.
As we mentioned, the prophetsof old made many predictions
concerning false teachers.
Some of those predictions areIsaiah 8, 20-22, jeremiah 5,
13-14, hosea 9, 7 9, zephaniah 3, 1 through 8, and the Apostle
(13:23):
Peter speaks of it in 2 Peter 2,1 through 3.
Furthermore, jude points outhow the judgment of God is upon
these apostates, and it issevere.
The Greek word that describesthey were designated for
condemnation implies that longago God had marked these people
(13:45):
out for damnation.
As I say that I want to mentionone thing If you have a
conviction that this may bespeaking toward you and you feel
a call to repent of your sin,know that conviction is good.
God wants us to turn from oursin and trust in Jesus Christ
alone, as we will see, thisletter of Jude calls the church
(14:10):
to bring people out of apostateteaching and into eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christalone.
Verse 4 continues that thesepeople that were designated for
condemnation pervert the graceof our God into sensuality.
It's always true of apostatesand false teachers that they use
(14:35):
the grace of God to continue inungodly behavior.
While they claim to belong toGod, even speaking for him,
their hearts are far from themessage of repentance from sin
and salvation in Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for sensualityhere means gross immorality or
(14:59):
unrestrained vice.
It describes a shamelesslifestyle of someone that
flaunts their sin.
These people are takingadvantage of God's grace with
their immorality and while theyclaim to know and speak the
truth of God, while they claimto know Jesus and the scripture,
(15:20):
they twist all of it to justifya lifestyle of sin.
And Jude says they deny ouronly master and Lord, jesus
Christ.
Jude very appropriately uses thetitle master as well as the
title Lord, to emphasize howthese people shamelessly take
(15:45):
advantage of the grace of GodThrough their open rebellion
against the very one they claimto follow.
They reject his lordship.
They reject Jesus Christ astheir master ship.
They reject Jesus Christ astheir master.
In fact, they view themselvesas their master.
(16:05):
They believe in themselves, ifyou will.
For anyone that genuinely knowsJesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior, and they've tasted ofthe true forgiveness that comes
from God, they would never usegrace as a license to sin.
Some verses that express thisare Romans 6, 1 and 2, galatians
5, 13, 1 Peter 2, 16, 2 Peter 2, 19.
(16:32):
Therefore, these apostates, orfalse teachers, deny Christ.
They deny him his position asGod, they deny him his position
as king and, ultimately, theydeny him his position as savior
and messiah of their souls, allwhile they profess to know him.
(16:55):
As Titus 1.6 reads, theyprofess to know God, but they
deny him by their works.
They are detestable,disobedient, unfit for any good
work.
Verse 5 of Jude continues.
(17:15):
Now I want to remind you,although you once fully knew it,
that Jesus, who saved a peopleout of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those whodid not believe.
Here in verse 5, jude begins touse examples of apostates to
show how God deals with themamongst his people.
(17:37):
How God deals with them amongsthis people.
His first example is how Jesussaved a people out of the land
of Egypt.
When I told you that Jude goesdeep into theology in these 22
verses, well, here's anotherexample.
Jude tells us here in verse 5,that it was Jesus who saved a
(17:58):
people out of the land of Egypt.
It's quite significant, as Ithink this is the only place in
scripture that clarifies how itwas actually Jesus who brought
the people out of Egypt.
Jesus, the Son of God, hasalways been the Savior of God's
people, always been the saviorof God's people.
(18:24):
Jude uses this example ofunbelievers who were among God's
people as an example ofapostates.
While God delivered all ofIsrael out of Egypt, there were
false teachers as well as manyunbelievers with them, and Jude
tells us that afterwards, goddestroyed those who did not
believe.
In fact, god destroyed almostan entire generation of Israel
(18:47):
by taking them 40 years throughthe desert because they gave in
to fear.
They refused to trust in God'spromise to bring them safely
into the promised land.
It was only Caleb and Joshuawho were kept alive amongst that
generation because they didn'tfear the sons of Anak.
(19:08):
Some verses that speak to thisare Numbers 14, 6-9, 1
Corinthians 10, 1-18, hebrews 3,16-19.
This example of Israel'sunbelief as a whole shows us
clearly how God deals withanyone among his people who
(19:29):
hears his word but they fail totrust it, teacher or not.
Hebrews 3, 7-12 speaks clearlyof this.
Verse 6 of Jude reads and theangels who did not stay within
their own position of authoritybut left their proper dwelling
he has kept in eternal chainsunder gloomy darkness until the
(19:53):
judgment of the great day.
Here we go again, another versein Jude that goes very deep.
The second example here thatJude uses of apostates are
apostate angels, and the wordangel here actually refers to
fallen angels or demons.
(20:14):
The fact that these angels arenot specifically identified by
Jude tells us that he assumedhis audience was very familiar
with the details of the accounthe's speaking of.
Jude says these angels didn'tstay within their own position
of authority.
Angels do have a position ofauthority to govern in the
(20:39):
heavens and that position ofauthority is just above men.
Hebrews 2, 6 and 7 speaks ofthis.
It reads Hebrews teaches usthat man's position of authority
(21:10):
is just under the angels, andJude's reference here describes
how these fallen angels didn'tremain in their position of
authority, their position in theheavenlies, but instead Jude
says they left their properdwelling.
Now just for some clarificationangels can take on human form as
(21:33):
messengers and to giveassistance to men at the
permission of God.
But angels are not to interactwith mankind on a regular basis
and they are not to do sowithout the permission of God,
only when God has a specificpurpose and has ordained it.
(21:54):
The angels leaving their properdwelling here speaks of an
event back in Genesis 6, 1-4,when fallen angels left their
heavenly dwelling and they tookwives among the men.
This was an angelic apostasy,where demons took on the bodies
(22:15):
of men and cohabitated with menoutside the permission of God,
and they did so to satisfy theirown lustful cravings.
In the next verse, jude isgoing to compare Sodom and
Gomorrah to this event with theangels.
He's going to paint a pictureof how these angels left what
(22:37):
was natural for angels andparticipated in something
unnatural.
They left God's ordered designfor something unnatural, an
unnatural lust.
Finally, jude says that God haskept them in eternal chains and
in gloomy darkness.
(23:00):
The Apostle Peter also talksabout these angels that sinned
and that they're kept in chainsIn 2 Peter 2.4, which reads when
they sinned but cast them intothe abyss and committed them to
chains of gloomy darkness to bekept until judgment.
(23:24):
These angels that are spoken ofhere in Jude and also by the
Apostle Peter are clearlyspecific angels.
They're angels that we are nowtold are chained in the abyss
awaiting judgment.
While they were once part ofSatan's rebellion here on earth,
(23:46):
roaming the earth and prowlingthe earth with Satan trying to
destroy mankind, they left theirproper dwelling in the
heavenlies and they are nolonger free to prowl about the
earth, but instead they arechained in the abyss.
The Apostle Peter also in hisletters, much like Jude does
(24:07):
here, also uses a comparison toSodom and Gomorrah when speaking
of these events, and theApostle Peter places these
events during the time of Noah.
Now I know that what I've justspoken about fallen angels may
be difficult for some people tounderstand or agree with, and
(24:28):
it's okay if we're not on theexact same page and it's all
right if we're still growing andunderstanding in what the
scripture teaches about thesethings, because this is very
deep theology.
But Jude's overall point withthese apostate angels is to show
(24:48):
us how God will judge those whoreject the authority that's
intrinsic in his design.
For example, many people todayreject God's design of the
family, god's design ofgovernment or God's design for
the church.
(25:08):
Instead, today, apostatesintentionally twist the truth of
God's word to satisfy their ownlusts for power and their own
lust for sin.
Jude 7 reads Just as Sodom andGomorrah and the surrounding
cities, which likewise indulgedin sexual immorality and pursued
(25:32):
unnatural desire, serve as anexample by undergoing punishment
of eternal fire.
Jude's third example ofapostasy is Sodom and Gomorrah,
but he does tie it directly backto his second example of the
angels.
Sodom and Gomorrah are used inScripture over 20 times as
(25:57):
examples of God's judgment onimmorality and the rejection of
the gospel message.
Jude's example of Sodom andGomorrah as apostates shows us
the wrath of God is in factagainst all of mankind who, by
their unrighteous acts, suppressthe truth about God's design,
(26:19):
which is made clear to all ofmankind by creation itself, as
Romans 1, 19 and 20 read,perceived ever since the
(26:49):
creation of the world in thethings that have been made.
So they are without excuse.
Here, in verse 7, jude uses thephrase sexual immorality and
unnatural desire.
Because we live in such an agewhere this is so confused, I'm
going to give a shortclarification on these two terms
.
Sexual immorality refers to anysexual desire or act outside of
(27:14):
a lifelong marital relationshipbetween one man and one woman.
There is no one on earth thathas not struggled with some type
of sexual immorality.
What Jude is speaking of hereis that these apostates indulge
in their sexual immorality.
(27:35):
They have no breaking system.
They do not say no to what theyknow be wrong.
Jude also speaks of unnaturaldesire.
An unnatural desire refers todesires that are against the
natural order.
The Greek word literally meansa different flesh.
(27:57):
Such examples would be mendesiring to sleep with men,
women desiring to sleep withwomen, angels, as we learned
earlier, sleeping with women, ormen sleeping with animals, etc.
Jude also emphasizes how itwasn't just Sodom and Gomorrah
(28:18):
that were destroyed, but thedestruction was so large that it
encompassed the surroundingcities as well, because they too
had become engulfed in thesexual immorality that had
overtaken Sodom and Gomorrah.
This stands as an example ofhow this kind of apostasy, this
(28:41):
kind of immorality, spreadsamongst mankind.
Jude says that they serve as anexample by undergoing a
punishment of eternal fire.
Sodom and Gomorrah are indeedexamples and a warning to all of
(29:01):
the earth, a warning of thereality that one day God will
destroy everything, the wholeearth, the same way he did.
Sodom and Gomorrah 2 Peter,3.10 reads will be burned up and
(29:30):
dissolved and the earth and theworks that are done in it will
be exposed.
God will cast those who do notbelieve into an eternal lake of
fire.
Many people today deny eternalpunishment, but Jesus warned us
of it again and again.
Scripture is very clear thatthe lake of fire is real
Revelation 20, 13-15 reads.
(29:53):
And the sea gave up their deadwho were in it.
Death and Hades gave up thedead who were in them and they
were judged, each one of them,according to what they had done.
And death and Hades were asJude says.
This should be a strong examplefor all of the world that if we
(30:28):
continue in our sin and willnot repent and turn to Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior,we will perish in the fire.
We're going to break herebefore picking up in verse 8
next week.
I want to thank each of you forjoining me for these first
seven verses in Jude.
God bless you this week.
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