Daily Bread 2011 - Jude 1

A Call to Persevere
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

What Does This Mean?
Jude the brother of James (the main leader of the church at Jerusalem) writes this short letter to those who are “loved”, “called” and “kept” in Jesus Christ. “Kept” and the imperative “keep” in v. 21 above, imply the main purpose of this short letter, which was for the early believers to keep the doctrinal integrity from the moral threats he graphically describes. (Asbury Commentary)

The main threat was that there were those who slipped into the church who were teaching that God’s grace gave them license for all sorts of immorality, which denied the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus. These also claimed to have dreams, which they used to reject authority and do what they wanted. Jude cites several Old Testament examples of those who had tasted God’s grace, and yet rebelled following their own desires. He also quotes from the apocryphal literature (writings between the end of the Old Testament and the New Testament approximately 500 B.C. to 50 A.D.), which was not regarded as part of the canon on the bible by the early church. For this reason some wanted to exclude this book of Jude from the New Testament canon, but the majority felt it should be included so it was.

Importantly Jude lifts us that these early believers should contend for the “faith” that was once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people. This assumes a reliable tradition that must be delivered and received in each generation, with its focus on proclaiming Jesus as both sovereign and Lord. Meaning Jesus was God, and He also sits at the right hand of the Father and will come to judge the living and the dead (from our Apostle’s Creed).

What Does This Mean For Us Today?
Specifically it means we need to guard the doctrine of faith God has entrusted to us as well. Today there are many opponents of the Gospel that reject the Lordship and divinity of Jesus, saying he was only a prophet like other prophets. At the heart of the Christian faith is the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord”. Jesus is Lord over all Creation and He will come again someday. And Jesus is also Lord of our lives, so that all we do is subject to His Lordship and teaching.

Generally it means we too must watch out for any way that we cheapen God’s grace to justify sin in our lives. Because of our human nature and inherent sinfulness, there will always be the tendency to fall back into old patterns that described us before we were saved and rationalize them by saying, “Well I’m forgiven so it doesn’t matter.” No, we are forgiven so it does matter. It matters how we live our lives not to justify ourselves but to show Jesus is Lord of our lives and our lives and how we live them are as importantly as our words we say. This is an important concept for the 21st century to think about and live out.

Jesus we pray that if we have received You as Lord that you will continue to protect and keep us in the true faith by Your Holy Spirit. Help us also to contend for the faith that your apostles proclaimed and the church has fought for throughout the centuries. In Your Name, Amen.