December 19, 2021

JUDE: STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

December 19, 2021

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

There are over 51 volumes of laws for Americans, some as archaic as “it is unlawful for a customer to pump their gas”! Some we know and obey, but most are not even known to us. Do you have a problem obeying all the known laws? Which one gives you the most trouble?

 

The Book of Jude, the short letter immediately preceding the book of Revelation, was written by the brother of James (verse 11). Both were half-brothers of Jesus. Jude was perhaps not revealing his relationship to Jesus out of humility and reverence. To have grown up in the home with Jesus yet not believed Mary’s or Jesus’ story of His birth must have saddened Jude greatly after the resurrection when the truth of Jesus’ deity was obvious to him. His short letter, which he desired to write to encourage believers, had to be changed to one of warning, as many false teachers had infiltrated the churches. Again, as the God-breathed living Word, Jude’s letter is as applicable to us today as it was to those who lived in Bible times.

 

Focal Passage: The Book of Jude

           

            We are called to stand up for what we believe in

 

  • Read Jude 3. What is another word for contend? In verse 4, what was happening? Do we see this today? Have you known of anyone who joined your church to cause division? Can you share?
  • Read verses 5-7. Jude reminds the church not to assume all of those who sit in the services are saved. Who does he give as examples? Does this apply to today?
  • Read verses 8-10. What are some ways you can identify “wolves in sheep’s clothing”? If you thought of someone in the first point, do you recall what brought about the feeling that something was off?
  • Read verses 16-19. In verse 17, what did Jude say the apostles warned them about? Why was it so important to warn believers that false teachers would come into the flock?

 

We are called to grow in what we believe

 

  • Read Jude 20. What does he mean by “build yourself up”? How can you do that?
  • If you were learning to play a musical instrument, how would you build yourself up? What does Jude list as a critical point in growing in your faith?

 

We are called to love through what we believe

 

  • Read Jude 21. What does Jude mean to “keep yourselves in the love of God”? Does someone have another translation? Read 1 John 2:5, 3:10, and 3:17. How do these verses tell us how to keep ourselves in the love of God?
  • What happens when we study the Scriptures faithfully? As you grow in your love for God, what do you desire to do? As you obey Him, what happens in your heart? How does this become a circle, growing you into a mature believer?

 

We are called to help others in their belief

 

  • Read Jude verses 22-23. What is the first group of people Jude tells us we will encounter? How are we to help them? What does that mean to you personally?
  • What is the second group he mentions? How does this line up with the Great Commission in Matt 28:19-20?
  • What is the third group? What importance does “with fear” have for us? Read 2 Tim 3:1-5, 9. What are some precautions you would take to witness to these?

 

We are called to spend eternity with Him

 

  • Read verses 24-25. What is so encouraging in the first phrase of verse 24? Why would He protect us from stumbling? Read John 10:28-29. What is so reassuring about these verses? How will Christ present us to His Father?
  • Read Heb 1:3. How are these two verses similar?

 

 

Close

 

Recently we read through the book written by the half-brother of Jesus, James, and reflected on what it must have been like to be raised in the same household as Jesus, as well as several other siblings (Mark 6:3). Now we see Jude coming alongside his brother James in the role of a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both men (and probably the rest of the family, if we knew), were active in establishing the churches and beseeching the Christ-followers to remain steadfast as persecution and false teachers became worse and worse. Both letters, inspired as “God-breathed”, are very different in style, but keep to the same theme—that of encouraging and warning the churches. As we see Christianity today becoming the target of persecution, we, too, must remain faithful to our God, whatever a day brings.

Jude’s letter was written with one theme: warning of the apostasy in the early church. Nothing has changed during the past two thousand years, and as we are all aware, Christianity is a threat to every person who does not want to come under the authority of an Almighty God. The false religions which are not receiving persecution are not a threat to men, because they are recognized by Satan as man-made religions backed by idols, false gods, or ideologies written and fostered by men. Only Christianity, where the Creator God reaches down to bring man to Himself, is true. It is restricted to a narrow road, with Jesus Christ being the only way to eternal life. Acts 4:12 says, “For there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” And 1 Tim 2:5 says “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.”

Keep your focus on God, your prayer life open to Him at all times, and your heart consciously ready to obey His Word. Carry your cross daily! Be ready at all times to tell of the hope you have within you! Forsake all sin and everything that can pull you away from God. It will be so worth it when you see His face.

 

 

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