Remember The Warnings
Jude 1:17-25
SS Lesson for 04/10/11
Devotional Scripture: 1 Thess 5:6-22
The concept of the outline of the lesson came from the Bible Expositor and Illuminator. This week's lesson exhorts us to Remember God's Warnings. The study's aim is to contrast the people whose coming the apostles foretold with the kind of people Jude urges his readers to be. The study's application is to find practical ways to show mercy to a doubter.
Preventing Falls
When my daughter was just learning to walk, I had her with me at my church one afternoon. We were out in the hall, and I was talking with a church member just before leaving for the day. I suddenly noticed that my little daughter had toddled down the hall, out of my sight. I knew that there was a flight of stairs around the corner. After I retrieved her, my friend said, “I have never seen you move so fast!” My reply: “That’s my daughter, man!” I had saved her from a tumble, perhaps a deadly fall. The last half of the book of Jude, our text for this week, is concerned with saving Christian brothers and sisters from a fall from their faith. How fast do we move in these cases? How much do we care? While we trust in God for our salvation, Jude issues a call that we can hear today: let us do all we can to save our beloved fellow believers from a disastrous fall. And let us trust God for our salvation, no matter what danger threatens us.
Lesson Background
Jude wrote his letter over 1,900 years ago to encourage his readers to put up a fight for the faith. Jude understood that this battle has very high stakes, since his readers faced a struggle for the future of authentic, apostolic Christianity. Jude himself was a brother of James (Jude 1) and a half-brother of Jesus. Although Jesus’ brothers were not believers during his lifetime (Mark 3:21; John 7:5), they became believers after his resurrection (Acts 15). The name Jude is the same as “Judas,” “Juda,” or “Judah”—the distinction being minor variations in spelling (see Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). When we see the name Judas in this context, we are not talking about Judas Iscariot, of course. We know little else about Jude the man or his church. We don’t know what kind of building Jude’s church met in. We don’t even know for sure where it was located (perhaps in Jerusalem). Jude’s congregation may have met in a larger home that one of the members provided for Sunday worship gatherings. Possibly, it was a Jewish synagogue building that had been converted to a church. Wherever it was that Jude’s congregation met, we can be pretty sure that the facility was modest. No stained glass windows. No red carpet. No choir robes. No heated baptistery. No organ. No wood carvings. No bell tower.
The details of the meeting place have not been preserved for us, but the nature of Jude’s church survives in his letter. His church understood that it was the people and the relationships that made up a worshiping community—the bride of Christ, the redeemed people of the Lord. Jude’s congregation knew that the church was to be a refuge from the world, a place were members loved and accepted one another without pretence or regard to status. Their identity as Christians depended on these facts. But there was a threat.
In our lesson this week we learn about the power of praise. When we praise our God, we also learn to grow spiritually and live the life to which Jesus calls us. When should we give words of praise to God? We are inclined to reserve them for the joyous events of life. But praise in these circumstances is relatively easy. Scripture gives us numerous examples of praise that grew out of difficult times. David's psalms included thanksgiving and praise even when he encountered the opposition of Saul and other enemies. The apostles in Jerusalem rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the sake of Christ. Paul and Silas sang praises to God in a Philippian prison at midnight. Peter urged his readers to rejoice in the midst of their fiery trials and sufferings. The book of Jude gives yet another example of praise in the midst of difficulty. The readers of Jude's short letter were facing an onslaught of false teaching and ungodly practices, all within the bounds of the church. Yet, after graphically depicting the dangers they faced, he ended his letter with one of the most memorable doxologies in all of Scripture. Have you ever thought about the fact that when we go through hard times, we are usually thinking mostly about ourselves? Praising God is a resource that has been given to us to recognize the power of God in our lives. It reminds us that we have a wonderful God who is far bigger than our problems and our difficult situations. This week we learn that when we praise God, we are turning our thoughts away from ourselves to the One we believe in. He can take care of any situation in our lives. We turn from our helplessness to His strength, and that puts us in a very different position. In our lesson we explore the power of praise and what it can do to transform our lives. It helps us remain faithful to Him.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. 62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction;
23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Pete Carroll has made win forever the motto of his University of Southern California football team. While this becomes trite with overuse, it is truly inspiring when we pause to think about it. Can we “win forever”? Yes, but only through the power of God, the one who is able to keep us from falling. We have all eaten of the fruit of sin. Some of us may have done so heavily this very week, as if sin were an all-you-can-eat buffet. Do not despair. God can keep you from falling. You can win forever. Others have struggled mightily with persistent sin issues, trying and failing, hoping and then having hopes dashed. We might feel as if we have tried God’s patience to the limit, that our quota of forgiveness and grace is long since exhausted. Do not despair. God can keep you from falling, and you can win forever. We all have periods in life when God seems distant. These are times when our prayers seem ineffective and useless. We feel that God is so far away that he is unreachable. Perhaps we feel like praying the so-called Agnostic’s Prayer: “O God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.” Sometimes it seems like our prayer life is trapped in an area where the cell-phone coverage is very spotty. Our conversations with God break up and are cut off. “You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through” (Lamentations 3:44). We cannot hear what God is saying to us, and we doubt whether he is hearing what we say to him. We are tempted to despair. But do not despair, for he can keep you from falling. If we trust in him, we can truly win forever. Our God is not only the God who picks us up and restores us to himself, he is also the God who will never abandon us. He will never go back on his promise to have us stand before his glorious presence, faultless and filled with joy.
Recently, an ad began running that had been used several years ago. An elderly woman is lying on the floor. She looks up in desperation and says, "I've fallen, and I can't get up." One of the greatest doctrines of the Christian faith, and one of the most highly debated, is the doctrine of eternal salvation. Why do people feel that they are not eternally saved? Is it because the Word of God teaches that our Father will take away the salvation He so freely offered us "while we were yet sinners" (Rom. 5:8)? I have never found where God will take away a believer's salvation. True, there are some difficult passages that may appear to teach that salvation can be lost. But I believe that salvation is a gift of God—and God will not take back His gift. Perhaps there are some who are fearful of losing their salvation because they know they are weak. How easy it is for believers to return to their pre-Christ behavior and feel they have lost the relationship they once had with the Lord. Still, He has never turned His back on them. It is His faithfulness that salvation is based upon. That is why Jude wrote, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." When you read Jude's words, note his confidence in God's ability rather than man's: "Now unto him that is able." Man is not able. But Jude was not describing man's ability; he was describing God's power. A child was trying to help his father paint. The father asked his son to bring him the five-gallon paint can. The boy struggled and pulled, but he could not move the can. "Son, are you using all your strength?" the father asked. "Yes, I am," the boy answered through clenched teeth. "No, son. You are not using all your strength because you have not asked me to help you." The loving father then put his hands on either side of his son's hands, and together they lifted the can. That is a beautiful illustration, but it may be a faulty one depending on how you use it. Salvation is not a joint effort between God and man. God did everything, and we simply received the gift He offered. That is why we need to focus on Jude's emphasis on God's ability when we recognize our failure. Not only is the Lord able to keep us from falling, but He is also able to present us faultless. No, God is not blind. He does not overlook our faults. He simply washed them away with the blood of Jesus. Someone has said that when we stand before God for judgment, He will not see our sin because He will be looking through rose-colored glasses—the blood of His Son. That is why Jude 1:25 declares that all the glory goes to Him because He is able to keep His children through the entire process and present us for His glory, honor, and praise.
1. Remembering the words of Christ's apostles is an important key to the Christian life (Jude 1:17)
2. We should not be surprised by the increasing mockery of our faith, for evil people always seek to justify their evil ways (vss. 18-19)
3. A life blessed by God is built on faith, prayer, and the Holy Spirit (vs. 20-21)
4. The weak in faith may present spiritual dangers to those who minister to them (vs. 22-23)
5. God glorifies Himself by preserving His own unto eternal life (vs. 24)
6. The purpose of life is to glorify God (vs. 25)
The book of Jude is one of the most neglected in the New Testament. But there is much to learn here. This lesson will help us explore how we can praise God and thus give Him glory.
There have always been those who scoff at God. Satan was the first to rebel against the Almighty, and many others have followed suit since. It was true in the first century when Jude wrote this epistle, and it is even more so today. In America, many of the scoffers are in places that some Christians do not immediately think about. Yes, we know that many in Hollywood are "mockers . . . who . . . walk after their own ungodly lusts" (Jude 1:18). And many in the political sphere are like this too. But there are also some in the educational establishment who mock God. Christians who consider the educational establishment might immediately jump to the conclusion that the science department would be the first place to look. That is understandable, for most public schools (if not all) teach only evolution as the origin of human life. But the science teachers are not the only ones who often oppose God. The English department sometimes has ways of mocking God. Take a look at your child's English or reading book. Even the grammar examples may include statements damaging to the Christian faith.
Mercy is certainly a trait that every person likes. We do not have to be criminals to want mercy. Compassion is tied to mercy. They are, in fact, inextricably linked. Jude encourages us to show compassion, for it will make a difference. It always does. It is true that a person may reject our merciful compassion, but that is rare. Showing compassion is the right thing to do. Consider how many times Jesus showed compassion to people. His acts of healing were acts of merciful compassion. The Lord rescued many from sickness or demon possession, and many immediately began following Him. Some did not follow Him; yet that never stopped Him from showing love. He was compassionate because that is His nature. While it is true that we do not have the inherent miracle-working abilities that our Lord had, we still have the ability to show compassion to others.
God is all-powerful. He is able to keep us from falling. What does this mean? He can keep us from sinning. Before we were saved, we really did not have the power not to sin. We had no choice. Or, we could say, we had only a choice between committing sin A or sin B. But all we did was sin. When God saves us, He gives us true freedom. We have a choice to sin or not to sin. God makes that possible. God deserves glory. He is God, and He is great. Some might think that His regard for His glory makes Him an egomaniac. We know that for mere humans, pride is bad and humility is good. God condemns pride in the Bible and exalts humility. So it is very easy for people to think that this should also apply to God. The difference here is that in God's case, He is the greatest. There is none greater. So it is simply in accordance with truth to give Him glory