WWUTT 461 Introduction to Jude?

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Jude’s Opening Greeting and the Call to Contend for the Faith

Thank you Becky. Today we are going to begin a study in the book of Jude, the second to last book of the Bible, and a particularly short book. It's only about 23 verses long, but while we spent three days studying in 2 John and three days in 3 John, also short books, we're going to be in Jude for about three weeks.

There is a lot of meat to this letter, a stinging indictment against false teachers. Jude wrote this to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, the occasion that he puts right at the very beginning of the letter.

So we're going to go ahead and read through this whole thing, and then we'll go back through and talk about who Jude is and the background for this writing. So Jude opens by identifying himself, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

For certain people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe and the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling.

He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Yet in like manner, these people also relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael contending with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you.

But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them, for they walk in the way of Cain and abandon themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.

These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, and they feast with you without fear. Shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones 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.

These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires. They are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. 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. 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 the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.

To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. So again, Jude opens with his own name, Jude a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.

And the way that that introduction is presented, it's presented in such a way that we would know who this is. Jude is the brother of Jesus Christ, the half-brother of Christ, full-brother of James, who is also the half-brother of Christ.

How do we know this? Well, various references, but we can piece this all together and be able to identify who the author of this letter truly is. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus had shared some parables and came back to his hometown of Nazareth.

And everybody was astonished by the things that Jesus taught in the synagogue. And they said, where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary?

And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things that he says? And they took offense at what he said. And this is what occasioned Jesus to say, a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.

And Judas that is mentioned there in verse 55, his brothers are James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. That's Jude. Jude is another form of the name Judas. So even Jesus' own siblings did not believe who he was and the things that he taught until he rose again from the grave.

And he graciously, by the grace of God, appeared to them and showed himself to them. The apostle Paul talks about this in first Corinthians 15, when he's laying out an apologetic argument for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And he mentions all the different people that Jesus appeared to between his resurrection and his ascension into heaven, a period of 40 days, according to Acts chapter one. And among those names mentioned are include James, the half brother of Jesus, and then mentions that more than 500 brothers at one time witnessed Christ in his resurrected form, having risen again from the grave before he ascended into heaven to the right hand of the father.

Jesus did not have to do that. He could have let his own siblings perish for not believing who he was, but he indeed revealed himself to them that they would believe. And they also became instrumental players in the spread of the gospel of Christ during that first century.

We also have Jude mentioned being present in the upper room after Jesus ascended into heaven. So this was at the time when a new disciple was being chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. It mentions those who were in one accord together in the upper room in Jerusalem.

So this is Acts chapter one, beginning in verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon, the zealot and Judas, the son of James.

These are the disciples. Verse 14. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. And so there they are mentioned again.

Who would the brothers be that would have included James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. So all four of those brothers, which we had mentioned in Matthew 13, the half brothers of Jesus were present there in the upper room prior to the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

And the only two half brothers of Jesus that we see come up again in the scriptures are James and Jude. James would become the leader of the Jerusalem church. And then Jude, of course, the writer of this particular letter.

And James had such a name about himself that he is not identified any other way than just James. After James, the brother of John, died by the sword at the hand of Herod, the only other James that we have mentioned throughout the New Testament is the half brother of Jesus.

Of course, the author of the book, James and Jude associates himself as being James's brother with no other identification as to the James that he's talking about. Everybody knew that James, leader of the Jerusalem church, present at the Jerusalem council, present also at the time in which the apostle Paul was first arrested and taken to Rome.

James would have been there during that time. And so Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, identifies himself this way instead of as the half brother of Jesus. And this is the same with James as well.

When you read at the start of his letter, he does not identify himself as the half brother of Jesus. Certainly would have been within his right to do so, but it's because these men are humble. And the fact that they are the half brother of Christ really does not add any significant weight to the words that they share.

They consider themselves just as instrumental in the spread of the gospel as any of the apostles. And so there's not a reason to have to put themselves in like a position of playing this trump card and saying, here's how important I am.

I'm the half brother of Jesus. Well, being being related to Jesus is not what makes their word true. It's the anointing of the Holy Spirit that they have been given and the word of God that they speak.

That's what makes their word true. God makes their word true, not anyone that they are related to. You know, I think also to first Timothy, when when Paul instructs Timothy to charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Now, what's the significance of that? The endless genealogies? Well, there were some people that tried to show their significance and importance by who they were related to. And so here, Jude and James would only have to play one name.

They wouldn't even have to go through an endless genealogy. They would just have to say, hey, I'm the half brother of Jesus and give weight and significance to their words that way. But they they don't need to do that and shouldn't have to do that, because, again, it is not who they're related to that makes their word true.

It is the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God that makes it true. And Jude appeals to the testimony of the apostles here at the start of this letter as well. So this is this is the Jude that we are talking about, the half brother of Jesus, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.

See, this is as much as Jude needs to mention about himself. Doesn't have to say he's the half brother of Jesus. He just says that he is the servant of Jesus Christ, as much a servant of Christ as anyone else.

And the fact that they had the same earthly mother does not make him any more a servant or any more an authority than even the apostles themselves. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to those who are called beloved in God the father and kept for Jesus Christ.

May mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you. That's perseverance of the saints stuff right there in verse one to those who are called beloved in God the father, which has a suggestion of foreknowledge to it.

God foreknew and predestined you that you would be called sons of God and kept for Jesus Christ. Perseverance of the saints that they would persevere in the faith that they have been given by God, Jesus Christ, who is the author and the perfecter of our faith.

He gives us our faith. He keeps us in our faith as well. Jesus in John chapter 10 saying my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. I and the father are one. Some of you may be aware of a controversy that was stirred up on Twitter last week when Matt Walsh, who is the author of the Matt Walsh blog, or at least that's the name that he goes by.

I don't think it's called the Matt Walsh blog anymore. He writes for the blaze, which is, um, oh, I can't remember that guy's name now used to be, he used to be on Fox news, Glenn Beck. That's it. I mean, it was, he left Fox news and then started his own, uh, media thing on the internet, of course, because when you, when you can't make it as a credible journalist, you just start your own, uh, publication.

So, uh, he not saying that all the people that work for Fox news are credible journalists either. But anyway, Matt Walsh is one of those that got brought on with the Glenn Beck camp. And uh, and he is a writer for the blaze.

Well, on Twitter last week, he made a comment about once saved, always saved or eternal security, also known as perseverance of the saints. And he mentioned that it is a heretical doctrine. Here's the exact quote, the most dangerous heresy.

And so according to Matt Walsh, this is the most dangerous heresy ever concocted is that a Christian can't forfeit his salvation. How many have marched into hell believing this? That's what he thinks is the most dangerous heresy.

More than antinomianism that God's grace allows you to sin and you can do whatever you want and you'll still be saved. That's what the antinomians believe that God's grace covers it all. So you can just do whatever you want universalism that everyone is going to heaven.

That's what Rob Bell teaches William Paul young author of the shack. Everybody's going to get to heaven or the prosperity gospel. Say that it's yours and it will be yours in Jesus name who wants to bless you with tons of money and planes and cars.

Joyce Meyer saying to speak to your checkbook and it'll fill up with money. That's not more dangerous. Gnosticism is more dangerous for crying out loud. Of course, I, I believe that what he's talking about is not heresy.

Once saved, always saved is absolutely a biblical doctrine and we just read it from the words of Christ in John chapter 10. And the apostle Paul says in Romans 8 39, that there is nothing in all of creation that'll be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

What we know is this. If a person claims to be a Christian for a time and then they fall away from it and leave the faith and never come back, they were never saved to begin with. That's what that means.

And Jesus gives that in his very first parable, the parable of the sower in Matthew chapter 13, where a sower goes out to the field to sow seed, casting seed into the ground. And some of the seed falls on the path that he is on and birds come and gobble it up.

And this represents a person who hears the word, but it is quickly snatched away from him by the enemy. And some other seed falls in rocky places. And this is a person who hears the word and receives it with joy, but he's got no root.

And so the seed quickly springs up, but is scorched out by the sun. Then you have more seed that falls in the thorns and grows up and is choked out by the thorns. And this is a person who hears the gospel of the kingdom of God, but the cares and the riches of this world are more important.

See, once again, that prosperity gospel and it chokes out the word of the kingdom. But then you have seed that falls in good soil and it is deeply rooted and it grows up and produces a harvest and even becomes fruitful and multiplies.

So the person who hears the message and is enthusiastic for it about a time, but then falls away was never rooted. They were never saved. They never had the gospel in them to begin with. It was all in vain.

The apostle Paul talks about that with the Corinthians, that they would believe and it would produce a fruit less that they believe this in vain. So they believed it for a time that was kind of fashionable for them.

Hey, it was my religious thing that I did for a little bit, but then I decided it wasn't true. And some of these other things proved to me that this was actually true and all this other that. Well, then they believed in vain.

They believed it for themselves. They never actually gave any glory to God. It was all for themselves. And so it is only by Christ that we receive the salvation that we have. And it is by Christ, beloved in God, the father and kept for Jesus Christ, that we are sustained in the faith.

Jude closes the letter the same way. So he opens letter by saying to those who are called beloved in God, the father and kept for Jesus Christ. And then he closes the letter by saying to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, perseverance of the saints, doctrine stuff right there at the start of the letter and at the close of the letter.

And then verse two, Jude one, two, may mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you. And that's what we'll come back to again tomorrow and talk more about as we've just merely scratched the surface of what is going to be a stinging and indict a letter of indictment from Jude, the half brother of Jesus.

I didn't mention this when I was talking about Matt Walsh a moment ago. I know that Matt Walsh is very popular among conservatives, but he's among the false teachers that Jude is going to be talking about in this letter.

Matt Walsh is a Roman Catholic and he rejects the doctrine of justification by faith alone. He rejects solo scriptura, which he was dogging on at the same time that he was dragging once saved, always saved or eternal security through the mud.

So be very careful about that guy, though he might say some things that you believe in or agree with from a conservative standpoint. He does not know the scriptures and he says he teaches falsely concerning the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

So let us pray for a man like Matt and for those false teachers that we encounter that they would turn from the heresy that they follow and instead would know the truth of the words that come from Jesus Christ and his apostles given to us in the New Testament.

Our Lord and God, our Savior Jesus Christ, we thank you for the salvation that has been given to us, for we were all once like the rest of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience was the spirit that was in us.

But you rescued us out of that darkness and you poured your Holy Spirit into us so that we could hear the words of the gospel proclaimed and understand them and believe them. And so may we not be so quick to condemn those false teachers, but pray for them, just as Christ commanded us to pray for our enemies, that we would pray for them to repent of their of the lies that they have believed and are repeating to other people and would come to know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And let us not shrink back from the sincerity and the authenticity of this message. But we would believe it all the more so that we would be all the more charged to share it with those that we encounter regularly, day by day in our community and around the world.

Thank you for this gospel. Thank you for the love of God, the Father, which was predestined for us, those who are in Christ Jesus and kept in Christ for the day of his return. We pray and ask for perseverance in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt .com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page.

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