Lesson 5
Jude
Maintaining
the Faith Entrusted to Us
Review:
1:4 The Problem Described
"For certain
persons have crept in unnoticed"
Where was
discernment?
"those who were long beforehand marked out for this
condemnation,"
Basic Prin: These false teachers, having rejected truth,
having rejected Christ they were under judgment, condemnation.
In context Jude is saying that they were written about
before, long before with reference to this judgment, should not be surprised.
Nature or characteristics of these F/T's, the great
pretenders.
1st Characteristic "ungodly persons" avsebh,j
2nd
Characteristic "who turn the grace of our God into
licentiousness"
They're
exchanging the grace of our God for licentiousness.
- licentiousness = avse,lgeia; pattern
of unrestrained, uncontrolled living, no limits; common pattern of F/T's OSN
rules; 2 Pet. 2:2;
3rd
characteristic "and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
- uniqueness of Jesus Christ,
have a false Christology
Summary Observations:
1. Jude gives us here the reason
for struggling earnestly for the faith, (present
tense) will be ongoing throughout our life.
2. Maintaining the purity of the
faith within ourselves and the local church is an ongoing, never ending
responsibility because F/T's are always out there and increasingly within the
church. This was true in Jude's
day but even more so today.
3. Often these F/T's enter under
false pretenses, masquerading as a Christian [as religious types, using
Christian terms with differing meanings] to gain the confidence of unsuspecting
believers.
4. Why unsuspecting?? People are
not using any discernment. This is
Jude's objective, heighten awareness and alertness to
this potentially devastating problem.
5. F/T's don't rise in a vacuum.
People themselves are a part of setting the environment in which F/T's and
their errors flourish. Isa. 30:9-11; Jer 5:30-31;
2 Tim. 4:3-4
6. Warning given in form of
prophecy: 3x's Jesus, Matt.
7. Modus operendi:
Since they operate under stealth, disguise that is crafty, & sneaky, they
are not going to openly reject the Bible as worthless, having no value. [although that's their belief]
8. Over time they will attempt to
establish a reinterpretation of the teaching of the Word to fit their own
conclusions, false teaching.
JW's NWT: In the beginning the Word was, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was a god.
[JW's also
9. Things to be on guard for:
- rejection of Biblical
Christology; Who is Jesus? Rem. 1&2 John
- reject inerrancy and authority of Scripture [unless they
can use a part to promote their viewpoint]
- reject miracles; too educated, too sophisticated
[problem is an erroneous view of God]
- reject divine intervention into
human history or divine judgment as a consequence for failure to measure up to
the divine +R std.
10. False teachers tend to be very
adept at perverting grace into license using high sounding elaborate arguments.
2 Pet. 2:18
11. They deny Christ's uniqueness,
the only [monoj]
master [despothj]
not His existence. [false
Christology]
12. Know that God does not deal
lightly with those who distort His truth or teach contrary to His Word. Heb. 10:29-31
In vs:
5-7 Jude warns His readers
of the peril of apostasy, rebellion against God by citing 3
historical examples and pointing out the
reality of the Judgment of God.
1:5 1st Example Exodus
Generous
Now I desire to
remind you
though you know all things
once for all,
that the Lord, after
saving a people out of the land of Egypt,
subsequently destroyed those who
did not believe.
Observations: 1:5
1. This first example that we need
to be on guard for is that of believer's walking away from truth; in essence
rebellion against God.
2. The Exodus generation experienced a great display of
God's grace and power in delivering them from slavery in
3. They knew and recognized from where their deliverance
came. Exodus 15
4. The sequence: #1 they were
redeemed and delivered (Passover);
#2 they failed to believe/apply BD in
their life; #3 they were judged.
5. Between the Exodus and Kadesh
Barnea [Num. 13-14] the issue for this generation was
their MA toward, the Word of God given them, the promises made by God. [13:1-2]
6. Jude's warning here to us is, Remember
the Israelites!! [example
for our instruction] Point is that negative volition to God and His word has
consequences
7. This whole context is exhortation to us not to follow
this pattern of rejection of grace, rejection of truth with its consequence of
judgment.