Sunday Sermons

Jude - Part 3: Verses 14-21

Mark Dunagan
11/06/05 - Sunday Evening

Prophecy of Judgment and Admonition to be Faithful

Jude 14-21

Jude 14 The writer agrees that Enoch mentioned in Genesis 5:21-24 was a real historical person and that God spoke through him. This reveals that the world prior to the Flood had plenty of opportunities to understand and obey God’s will. Noah was also a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) during this period of time. The early Church Fathers assumed that Jude here is quoting a non-biblical book known as 1 Enoch which first appeared in the second century B.C. At one point this book says, “Behold, (God) shall arrive with ten million of the holy ones in order to execute judgment upon all. He will destroy the wicked ones and censure all flesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners and the wicked ones committed against him” (1 Enoch 1:9). Jude might be quoting this verse, for this was a very popular uninspired book among the Jews (just like various uninspired books are popular among Christians today); seeing that Jude is inspired, Jude had direct access to God and is giving the true original prophecy. Remember, just because a biblical writer quoted an uninspired book or author, does not mean that the writer was endorsing everything the writer said (compare with Acts 17:28). “It was also about these men”: Thus Enoch’s prophecy did not relate to the Flood but to the final judgment when the Lord will deal with the false teachers Jude’s listeners would face. Thus knowledge of the final judgment has been around virtually since Creation. The very beings that these false teachers slander (verse 8) will accompany the Lord in judgment (Matthew 25:31). Jude 15 “Upon all”: Four times in this verse Jude will stress the word “all”. “We meet the idea that no-one and nothing escape God’s scrutiny. He will judge everyone, and convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts and all the harsh words they have spoken against Him” (Stott p. 208). Possibly these false teachers were not denying the reality of the Second Coming, but rather were denying that it would mean condemnation for them, after all, they were members of the church (verse 4). “Surely God would reward them rather than judge them when He came? But Jude is adamant that there is no way that we can hide from God either words or acts which have offended Him” (p. 208). And God will condemn “all” ungodly acts and words among His professed people, as well as among unbelievers. There is no once-saved-always-saved in this verse. “All” means “all”. “The ungodly”: Judgment will be executed on a moral basis. “Once people think that they are free from any scrutiny by God, they will feel free to cut themselves loose from His standards. God will be seen as a grumbling but ultimately softhearted parent who makes impressive threats but cannot bring himself to act upon them. That is the assumption of many people today, who honestly do not believe that God will act as He has said He will act. Such a view hampers any Christian, because once we cease to believe in the God the Bible reveals, we will feel free to indulge ourselves by making God in our own image. We devise a God who changes His mind about evangelism because we prefer to think that everyone will be saved” (Stott p. 209).

Jude 16 “Grumblers”: Like the “smoldering discontent of the Israelites in the desert” (1 Corinthians 10:10), whenever a man gets out of touch with God he is likely to begin complaining about something. To grumble and moan is one of the distinguishing marks of man without God (Philippians 2:14)” (Green p. 178). This would include making complaints both against God and His people. “Murmuring is therefore no sin of minor importance, no mere weakness of the flesh. It is one of the hallmarks of apostasy (Psalm 106:24-26)” (Jude, The Acts of the Apostates, S. Maxwell Coder, p. 96). “Jude’s concern is Christians who are grumblers about conditions on earth. Since we have not been magically whisked off to heaven, but instead face a daily battle against temptations and sins that we do not always want to resist, some might wonder whether we would not be better off living as non-Christians, free to set lower standards for ourselves if we wish. We need not jeopardize our eternal security, they might think, because we are already saved; but the fight to be holy is an unnecessary weight” (Stott p. 210). “Finding fault”: The literal meaning of the word here refers to those who are dissatisfied with their lot in life. This includes people who are always cursing their “luck”, not wanting what they have, longing for what they do not have, and in winter wishing it were summer. Complaining is serious because God is the author of all blessings (James 1:17), and therefore such murmuring is accusing God of being a very poor manager of the universe. “They are forever gazing over the fence at the non-Christians’ greener grass (so they think), at people who are free not only to behave as they wish, but to do so with a clear conscience and with as few inhibitions as they choose” (Stott p. 211). Yet remember Proverbs 23:17-18. This would also include people who are always dissatisfied with God’s rules and Bible doctrine. “Following after their own lusts”: Instead of following Christ wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4), their allegiance is to their own lusts. Self is all that matters at this point. Recently I read an article where the author noted, “my struggle with lust seems to intensify when I have an ungrateful heart” (Eternal Perspectives Fall 2005, p. 14). Both pride and self-pity are avenues to lust, either we say to ourselves, “I deserve something” or “I deserve the right to comfort myself considering what I have to put up with in life”. “Most of us seem quite able to bounce back and forth between pride and self-pity, giving ourselves all kinds of justification for plunging into the polluted pool of lust” (p. 15). “They speak arrogantly”: This is especially seen in confidently contradicting the claims in Scripture. “Flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage”: The Bible often warns against the dangers of being flattered (Proverbs 18:5). This person easily slips under our guard, and the most dangerous flatterer is the person who misleads people concerning their spiritual status. “In order to win followers and gain influence, these men have deliberately chosen to teach a wrong gospel that will make fewer demands and more promises of instant blessing” (Stott p. 212). See 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Peter 2:19.

Jude 17 “Remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles”: “Forgetfulness of the teaching and warnings of God in Scripture is a major cause of spiritual deterioration” (Green p. 180). Even though Jude may have quoted from 1 Enoch, the authoritative standard is the words of the apostles (Acts 2:42; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; 2 Peter 3:2). Jude 18 “That they were saying to you”: The imperfect tense here is used; they were in the habit of teaching the following: “In the last times there will be mockers”: That is, the apostles had repeatedly predicted the arrival of these false teachers (Acts 20:28ff; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1ff; 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1ff). “Last times”: The apostles did not teach that such false teachers would simply arrive about a week or so before Jesus returned, but rather the whole period of time between the establishment of the New Covenant and the Second Coming is known as the “last times” (Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:1-2), and during this entire period of time the church will battle against such men. “Mockers”: Those who ridicule Biblical truths. “Following after their own ungodly lusts”: Here is a refreshing insight, the motivation behind people saying such things as the “bible is filled with errors” is not actual evidence, but rather a desire to justify their own lusts. The ungodly desires arrive first and then the bad theology is invented. Thus the root cause of skepticism is not some noble intellectual motive, but rather someone is trying to rationalize sin in his or her life. Stott reminds us, “The fact that someone has a theology, and is able to justify his position by quoting Bible verses, is no guarantee that he is being totally honest with himself in his thinking. The Bible has been used to support a variety of unsavoury lifestyles”(p. 215). Jude 19 “These are the ones who cause divisions”: Green notes that Gnosticism was the revolt of the well-to-do, half-educated bourgeois class. “They were spiritual aristocracy, immune to the laws of conduct which bound the ordinary man”(Green p. 183). “Worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit”: Apostates often claim that they are the more “spiritual minded” and that they are simply trying to find a truer walk with Jesus, one not bound by the “traditions” of the church or organized religion. Jude tells his friends, “Don’t believe that for a moment”. The motivation behind apostasy is not “spiritual”, it is self. “Far from being spiritual giants, they are being pulled down by the very things over which they claim to have victory. Sin still controls their destiny” (Stott p. 217). These “Spirit-led” people do not have the Spirit!

Exhortations to the Faithful

Jude 20 “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith”: The Christian has an obligation to edify and strengthen himself and our faith comes by hearing the faith (Romans 10:17; Jude 3; Acts 20:32 “Now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up”). “Most holy”: First the gospel message is holy because it comes from a holy God and it is not the figment of the collective imaginations of the apostles. “We are not to be so fearful of the awesomeness of this faith that we make the error of treating it like a fragile antique vase, which must be kept locked up and guarded for its own safety. When the Bible urges us to defend the gospel, it tells us to do so by teaching it fearlessly (2 Timothy 1:14)” (Stott p. 220). “The faith is most holy, because it is utterly different; entirely set apart from all others. It is unique in the message it teaches and in the moral transformation it produces” (Green p. 184). “Praying in the Holy Spirit”: This is not praying while using the gift of tongues, rather these are prayers that issue from a heart being led and controlled by the Spirit’s revelation (Ephesians 5:18,20; 6:18). “To outrun the apostolic scriptures and prayer is to outrun Christianity altogether” (Green p. 184). “Our prayer for ourselves and one another will be that we may not deviate from our faith and hope. For new Christians we shall pray that they will put down good and healthy roots; for our teachers and leaders, that they will not be led into error and so lead us into error; and for those who have fallen into error, that they may come back” (Stott pp. 222-223).

Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God”: “We know from his letter that the way we do this is by ensuring that we are constantly obeying God. If we want to know what happens to those who do not keep themselves in God’s love, we need look no further than the examples of the Israelites in the desert, the angels that sinned, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam and Korah. If we want to see the present counterparts of those people and places, we need only look at those who behave in the same way and share their mocking attitude to God’s law” (Stott p. 223). Jude started this letter by reminding his readers that they are beloved by God (Jude 2), but here we are equally reminded that we have an obligation to maintain this relationship. Jesus noted, “Just as the Father as loved Me, I have also loved you, abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (John 15:9-10). Thus God’s love is in a sense conditional, and by their disobedience the false teachers had fallen out of this loving relationship. Thus Jude rejects the attitude; “God loves me no matter what I do”.“Keep yourselves”: The love under consideration is not simply a feeling that comes or goes, rather continuing to love God and be loved by Him is our choice (Matthew 22:37). “Waiting anxiously”: “Christianity makes sense only if the promises God makes are kept” (Stott p. 223). And we are not the first generation that must wait; the Bible is filled with “waiting” people (Luke 1:10; 2:26,38; 12:36 “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast”). Not only must we continually feast on Scripture, pray and obey, but we must keep the fire of hope burning fervently. “True Christianity is ‘world-affirming’ in the sense that it rejoices in God’s world as made by Him, but Christianity is ‘world-denying’ in the sense that living as though this world were all there is is utter delusion” (Green p. 185). “For the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life”:“Note the need for the mercy of God, not only initially but daily; not only daily but at the last, “the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day” (2 Timothy 1:18). Even ‘man come of age’ cannot afford to be without the mercy of God” (Green p. 186). Yet note who receives mercy at the last day, those who keep themselves in the love God and continually to obey Jesus’ commands.

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017