Persevere, despite temptation! (Jude v17-23)

Source: Jesus is the answer: Lyrics by Michael W. Smith

Jude has been warning us to contend the faith against the ungodly people who have subtly infiltrated our Christian communities making you forget the truth in a world of lies and have risen to the highest positions on the backs of others and how we should forgive them.

He turns now to encouragement. Forcing the readers to remember what they were once taught about the truth and how we should use that truth.

Verse 17-19:
"But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.' It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit."

Here, Jude reminds the readers of the teaching they received from the apostles, the reason why they are Christians.  He points out that the ungodly infiltrators were not unexpected and were, in fact predicted when the Gospel was taught.  He reminds them that the apostles taught that these 'scoffers' followed their "own ungodly passions" and, without sugar-coating this in any way, categorically asserts that these false teachers "cause divisions".  They are successful in encouraging good Christian people to turn from their path onto some worldly passion, thereby splitting church communities apart.

Verse 20-23:
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by flesh."

There are two parts to holy living, according to Jude; the spiritual and the practical.  We must have a communion with God the Father (love of God) through Jesus Christ (mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ) and by the Holy Spirit (praying in the Holy Spirit).  The second part is the practical aspect, "have mercy on those who doubt"  we should be patient with those who hear the Gospel, yet begin to doubt it's meaning and message.  "save others by snatching them out of the fire" we must 'fight' false teaching with the truth.  We must pray for those who are persuaded by it, we must teach the gospel truth according to the Scriptures and must have faith that God's Will will prevail. "to others show mercy with fear" we must watch out for our brothers and sisters.  We must show mercy on those who are "stained by flesh" and not judge.  We must hate their sin, but love them.

Our path of holy living is not an easy one, but the instructions are clear.  Our journey will be tainted with "ungodly passions", temptations of worldly enjoyment and better living, but our instructions are clear.  So if our instructions are clear, why then do we listen to the false teachings?  When we have the gospel on our hearts, why do we accept the 'truths' from those who infiltrate our communities?

If anything, Jude has been quite open with what Christian life will be like and has given us ways to identify those who would cause "divisions".  He has shown us that we must be on our guard at all times and not fall into the rut believing the Christian community is a safe haven against sin and Satan.

It is easy to fall-in with a dominating crowd in order to feel like you fit in and this leads to the dangers of false teaching and ungodly passions.

Psychologists will tell you it is perfectly normal and human to be drawn toward people who are like yourself, whether intelligence, interests or of like mannerisms and sense of humour. Or, if your personality is not dominant, you may be drawn to the strongest and most dominant personality or clique (sometimes changing the way you do things in order to fit-in).

Before you know it, you get smaller groups formed within the larger group where very few venture beyond the safety net of their social clique.  Bridges between the cliques rarely form.  If allowed to continue, these social cliques will start enjoying the things they enjoy together, without inviting others from other cliques (and most likely of worldly passions).  This is division!  One body split into several factions of different interests/abilities/beliefs ...

I have seen this in churches all too often.  Congregations split by cliques, and one clique thinking they are better than another or a member of one clique causing problems with another bringing the wrath of the second clique upon the first, leading to a massive 'bust-up' and a church division!

People get hurt. People leave the church for long spells of time (if not the rest of their life!) and in doing so, turn from God.  They have allowed the 'false teaching' of these 'ungodly people' to infiltrate their lives and turn them from God's truth.  The remaining followers of the Gospel truth have forgotten how they should respond - with mercy and prayer, encouraging themselves and others who are victims of this division.  They have not shown mercy to those who are tainted with sin and flesh and so, these victims of false teaching have drifted from God.  But, so have the those who remain.

This doesn't always happen in Christian communities, however  Sure, cliques form (remember that is 'human' according to psychologists!) but something more powerful overrides the inter-clique divisions.  The Gospel!  Teaching the gospel truths, if done properly and continually, will stop any division that is brewing.  The truth in a world of lies is powerful enough to overcome false teaching and infiltrators.

As we will find out next time, Jude reminds us that we must rely on Jesus Christ, our saviour, in order to stand against the ungodly infiltration of our communities and the false teachings of worldly passions.

Christ is the answer to my every need;
Christ is the answer,
he is my friend indeed;
Problems of life my spirit may assail,
With Christ my Saviour, I shall never fail,
For Christ is the answer to my need.
Author: William T. Maltby, copyright: 1945, Salvationist Publishing and Supplies Ltd.

So, persevere, despite temptation!

Forgive them! (Jude v14-16)

Source:https://hoshanarabbah.org

Jude has just been telling us what the truth is in a world of lies. He reminded us that the truth, the only truth, is Jesus Christ came to die for whoever believes in him so that they may have eternal life in Heaven.

Now, he turns to emphasizing that the problem with false teachers infiltrating Christian communities is not a new thing when he reminds us about Enoch.

Verse 14:
"It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones ..."

Enoch was the 7th generation following Adam, son of Jared and father of Methuselah (Gen 5:18-21), his prophesy is recorded in the external book, The Book Of Enoch. This is one of the earliest prophesies about Jesus' second coming, coming with all his angels.

Verse 15:
"... to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Jesus will come with his angels "to execute judgement on all and convict the ungodly". Jude wants us to understand that the fate of the false teachers, those that have infiltrated our ranks (so to speak) from verse 4 is set in 'stone'. Every wicked person will be judged in the timing of God's choosing. This is an important point that Jude wants us to know. He calls these wicked people the ungodly 4 times: "the ungodly"; "deeds of ungodliness"; "ungodly way" and "ungodly sinners". Remember these people are evil infiltrators who have subtly made their way into our communities by rising up to the top on the backs of others, without considering others, by sweet-talking those in authority. Jude is categorically stating here (four times!) that this is NOT the godly way and that their nature is, in fact, against God.

Verse 16:
"These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage."

As if being called 'ungodly' was not enough, Jude identifies the type of people he wants his readers not to relate to:

"grumblers and mal-content" - these are similar to the people of Israel in the wilderness, always complaining and grumbling about being in the wilderness, comparing it to their 'luxurious' life in Egypt working as slaves. Grumbling shows a clear sign of ungratefulness, an attitude of 'I deserve so much better that you are giving me', but when times are good, they are the first to cheer, perhaps saying, "I deserve this, I am so good at what I do." Those who are not content with all that they have are always finding fault, never satisfied and always want perfection. Like the grumblers they will complain at the least little thing, but unlike the grumblers, those who are 'mal-content' will complain even in good times. Grumbling and always finding fault is not God's way (remember the ungodly in v15?), they are "following their own sinful desires" they only have one motive in life - their way or no way!

"Loud-mouthed boasters" and "favoritism" refer to people who go out of their way to be heard. They like everybody to know what they do, when they do it and why they do it. They will make themselves known to the people in authority and offer themselves for every opportunity, not allowing others to have a go, they may even put others down to put themselves in the lime light, they definitely like the sound of their own voice!

Why does Jude go on and on about these people? Why does he go out of his way to make sure we know who these people are? Why is it important to be able to recognize them? Can't we just allow them to do their thing and we get on with our own lives and try not to be in their way?

Well, Jude says, "No!" Up to this point, he has been quite clear that these evil infiltrators are ungodly and are only out for themselves (v13). They will stop at nothing to persuade you to follow them.

If you are like me, you will have experienced many like this, perhaps in your workplace or even your church. They have successfully infiltrated everywhere and continuously work to recruit new friends and helpers to their cause, with them as 'absolutely ruler'. They do this in ways that are subtle. Perhaps some friends who were yours first have drifted away when a new person arrives and befriends them, leaving you alone and saddened.

What is the answer? How do we deal with these people?

During the days when Jesus walked the Earth, there were a group who fitted these type of people. They went out of their way to ensure their way of life was superior to all others. They had twisted the rules of their religion and beliefs to make it impossible for anyone else to follow them, so that only they would inherit the great prize. They persecuted those who were not part of their religion. They bore false witness and ganged up on those who stood against them and they looked down upon those they believed were beneath them and not worthy of their god.

Jesus came to radicalize religion, turn it on it's head. It had been twisted for so long, humanity had diluted the law of God for their own gain, none of it was as it was intended originally. It was the perfect time for God to enact his plan from the beginning, his Word becoming flesh. Jesus is the Word and he came to change the way of humanity. He came to put these subtle infiltrators in their place. He came so that people like you and me, can recognize them for what they truly are and believe in the truth. How?

By saying three simple words on the cross ...

"Father, forgive them ..." (Lk 23:34)

We, as Christians, are taught to "forgive those who sin against us!" and here Jesus shows us what to do. We must forgive them for their wickedness against us. We must forgive them for stepping on our backs to reach the top. We must forgive them for taking all the credit for things we have done. We must simply forgive.

Will this make a difference to these people? Will you still get trodden on if you forgive them?

Well, most probably, yes, because they follow their evil natural desires. This is not God's way, this is their way and no other way is important to them, including yours, their wickedness will be punished at judgement. They will be like the Israelite generation who did not enter the promised land and the angels and the Sodomites who disobeyed God and were judged accordingly. They, too, will receive God's wrath directly.

You, however, if you turn to Christ and trust in him completely, then God's wrath has already been appeased for you and your sin, when Jesus said, "Father, forgive them ..." and stretched out his arms and died.