Lesson 11
Jude
Maintaining
the Faith Entrusted to Us
1st These are grumblers, goggusth,j describes
a person dissatisfied w. his
circumstances or place in life murmurer, grumbler, complainer
2nd they were “complainers,” or "fault-finders" memyi,moiroj
— always complaining about their lot in life, their niche in life;
3rd they were “following after their own lusts,” ordering their conduct after the immoral desires that burned in their hearts from their sin nature.
4th they spoke “they speak arrogantly" [great swelling words,]”
5th they held “flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
They flattered influential people to impress them
for personal gain, be it popularity, position, prestige, power, or profit.
1:17-23 Challenge to Believers; Our Defense against False Teachers
Jude has described their defiled character, their deceptive teachings, and their deplorable conduct in order to warn believers of his generation and every generation of the C/A but I believe especially to warn those of the last generation of the C/A to guard against them.
Jude is Reminding Believers
First, he urged them to remember “the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
- Passages dealing specifically with apostate F/T's; 2 Pet. 2-3; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-7; 4:1-4; Acts 20:28-30
Prin. You must know BD in order to guard yourself against apostasy.
Second, Jude reminded his readers how prevalent apostasy would become “in the last time” (v. 18).
Third, Jude reminded his readers of the character and conduct of the apostates. He summarizes a portion of what the apostles taught. [see this in verses 18-19]
that they
were saying to you, "In the last time there shall be mockers, following
after their own ungodly lusts."
These
are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
Not only do they cause divisions, schisms but the next part of the verse makes it clear what their spiritual status before God really is, if there was any question for anyone.
They were “worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit” (v. 19).
What did Paul say about being without the H/S?