The book of Jude is often considered the most neglected book of the New Testament. That’s a tragedy because the book of Jude speaks powerfully to us today. Jude warns about the dangers we face in our church and in our lives.
Jude was the half-brother of Jesus and a leader in the early Christian church. From the very beginning, we find out that this is an unusual letter in the Bible.
Jude Didn’t Want to Write This Letter
Jude 1:3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.
Jude had been planning on writing a letter about the great Christian doctrines. However, he felt compelled to instead write a letter urging Christians to defend the faith.
We Have a Faith Worth Defending
Jude reminds us that while Christianity is fundamentally about our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Christianity is also based on a series of truths about God and humanity. This truth has been passed on to us through the Bible.
Christians are not free to alter or add to this truth. God has given us everything we need through the Bible. And Christians have a responsibility to defend the faith from attack. This is the emphasis in Jude’s letter.
The Faith Is Under Attack from Those on the Inside
Jude 1:4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
There were false teachers who had infiltrated the church (or churches) that Jude is writing to. These false teachers promoted sexual immorality and contradicted the biblical teaching on Jesus.
Today, we also face dangers from false teachers on the inside of our churches. If we fail to understand the threat that is within our churches, we will face significant consequences.
If We Fail to Spot False Teachers, Then We Will Be Deceived by Their Lies
Beginning in verse 5, Jude reminds us of times in the Old Testament when God’s people failed to stop false teaching and paid the consequences for it. This teaches us how important it is to spot false teachers and remove them from influence in our churches.
We Fight False Teaching When We Pursue the Truth Together
Fortunately, God wants us to overcome the dangers and threats from within our churches. We do this when we immerse ourselves in the Bible, and allow the Bible to teach us what is true about God. A church that is centered on the Bible will be able to overcome false teachers.
Therefore, we need to make sure that we aren’t deceived by false teachers. And if there are any false teachers who are reading this, please listen again to the warning in v.4.
Jude 1:4 The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Article for this topic by Scott Creps.
