Jude’s Warnings and Revelations

The letter of Jude is a short one that doesn’t go more than 25 verses and can be read through in roughly five or ten minutes depending on how quickly you read. I believe this one is the only letter to specifically address false teachers. While the other apostles wrote letters and in them had to deal with false teachings such as in Galatians when Paul asks “who has bewitched you?” Or in 2nd Peter where he addresses that the second coming hasn’t happened as some were falsely preaching. But Jude was specifically prompted to warn us about them and to let us know the condition of their spirit. 

I find it strategic in the way this book of the Bible is placed right before Revelations. As most people know this is the final book of the Bible which tells us how this world will end. Of the many things revealed it is that in the end, a false teacher will come who is far more effective than any who came before. Who will take captive the entire world through his teaching and the messages he says. So with all this in mind, it feels a bit like God is saying “keep this in mind as you enter the time with many strong deceptions.”

Jude verse three says this after giving his introduction to the reader telling them who he is; “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.” (Jude Verse 3 NIV)

That word for content in the original Greek is epagōízomai which also means to fight for or to defend the faith that was entrusted to them. Continuing onwards he gives us the reason for the need to do so. “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 Verse 4 NIV)

We are doing a lot of Greek today because it’s so important that we know what is being said to us. The word being used to describe how false teachers have entered also translates as “to infiltrate.” When they succeed they bring with them false teachings that infect and lead the church down the wrong paths. The main group from the era of this letter’s writing was the Nicolatians who, according to the best of my research, were compromising scriptures for acceptance from the world. 

Teaching that Christians didn’t need to depart from the sinful lifestyle that they once lived as a pagan. As I was researching for today’s blogcast many believe Jude is referring to this group and those who are teaching similar things. 

(I do have a dedicated blogcast on why we need to put to death the entirety of our flesh called “Simple Yet Profound” which will be coming out on the 25th of March so stay tuned for that.) 

I am now going to change gears and use an analogy that I think illustrates the point quite well. When a movie or TV Show has a stealth mission it usually follows a predictable format. 

First, we get the mission briefing telling us the objective and what our protagonist is up against. Then the infiltration sequence actually begins. We get many shots of film that show how the team or one individual moves forward to achieve their goal. Something we might see in these shots is incompetent or bored guards who are not very diligent since in their minds nothing ever happens. This staple exists for a reason, it tells the audience that there are many guards but they just need motivation to actually get into high gear. In a film, that is usually when the infiltrators make their move through the blind spots to achieve their objective showcasing how their lack of diligence is going to cost them. But there is also another staple in these films. A small group who actually cares about their job and making sure it is done the right way. They are the ones who realize something is wrong and sound the alarm which ultimately causes the tension to rise and we are on the edge of our seats wondering if it will be a successful mission. I chose this analogy because it illustrates how false doctrine can slip into a church should the congregation not know their scriptures.

The guards in this analogy are all of the church members beyond just the Pastors and board members. This job also falls to the lay folk and common people since we have a personal responsibility to ensure that we live godly lives and truly understand him. It is only by knowing our Bibles and being dedicated to having a correct understanding and interpretation of the word of God that we can tell if a teaching is wrong. 

John Cooper who is the bassist and lead vocalist for the rock band Skillet began his podcast “Cooper Stuff” in 2020 as a pushback against a group within Christianity that was compromising the truth of the gospel. But he was only able to recognize a teaching as wrong for he knew what was right. In verse 16 Jude quickly describes the actions of these compromising teachers. Fruit to judge the tree by, so to speak. While there are many who say we shouldn’t judge others we can still make an assessment of them. Proverbs 20:11 says that “Even a child is known by his actions, so is their conduct really pure and right?” I also want to take this moment to remind people that the correct understanding of that verse in Matthew chapter 5 is that we need to understand that however, we judge others in the same way we will also be judged. 

Now that we have that taken care of, let’s go back to what Jude gives us as a set of indicators for the false teachers. “These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”

(Jude verse 16 NIV)

Scripture is eternal truth and thus it remains relevant at all times. I am going to get back to this but for a quick moment, I want to focus on the part that exists about flattery. Just, expound upon it a bit.

By definition, flattery is when we give praise to an excessive amount, to gratify with the assurance that something is right, or to display something as favorable. One of the ways this happens is through not standing firm against society’s push to normalize sins. Maybe following the crowd of what is “the big thing” on social media. 

I can go down one of many rabbit holes on this subject and there are many who have. But the point that I am trying to make is that when we as Christians begin to value the opinions of society above that of God we begin to get on shaky ground for our theology. As preaching things for the sake of being accepted becomes the priority there inevitably comes a point where a decision must be made between compromising truth or remaining steadfast again and strengthening what remains.

When they compromise for the sake of remaining accepted by the world divisions come as a result. Many times it’s between those who hold the traditional biblical view of an issue and those who don’t want to hold on to it in favor of embracing society’s new opinion. 

Our job as the faithful who haven’t compromised becomes to “snatch them out of the fire” as Jude says in verse 23 to those who remain in “the most holy faith.” There are many who believe that division shouldn’t happen within the church. And I agree but when the truth is perverted and leaders don’t want to submit to God’s true authority the only available option if they don’t want to be reconciled is to separate ourselves from them. Think of it as a surgery that cuts away necrotic flesh that is infected by bacteria for the sake of saving the body. 

Remember what I mentioned about scripture being eternal truth? Well, we’re coming back to that now. In the Western World, primarily in the United States, as the church stood strong against the cultural push the attacks were usually just names and insults against us which we allowed to metaphorically bury us. From that one victory, it has escalated from basic insults and reputation tarnishing to actual threats if they don’t agree with the societal push deeper into sin. The most recent ones are the subjects of sexual ethics and that pre-born children need to be protected from death in the womb through abortion. That God’s laws are eternal means they are unchanging and never lose relevancy to human society and culture. Because of this they always have the power to convict people of wrong doings in their life.

Due to this there are many people who try to pick and choose the parts of the Bible they follow making them susceptible to false teachings and doctrines. And thus the importance of making sure we know the truth and give gentle correction to others that we save them from being ensnared into crooked ways becomes more evident to us.

I want to wrap this up by saying that we shouldn’t fear holding our leaders to God’s standards since they have agreed to be held to them. His word is something that must be kept as our end all be all when it comes to morality. 

When someone teaches something different the teaching needs to be analyzed to see if it is compatible with the scriptures. In doing so you may help prevent a bad doctrine from spreading or if you can’t stop it from taking over your church you can be someone to snatch others from the fire that would result from it. Don’t be afraid of division if it causes reconciliation and for a renewed lordship of the teachings of Jesus in the lives of others.

Until next time, keep in true faith and seek the Lord’s presence and favor above all else. Repent of your sins at the times of His convictions and pursue righteousness for that is what allows Him to grant power for His glory. May you be strengthened in this, Amen.