Jude 17-19 How to keep from stumbling, pt.1

I read recently that a child was walking on the beach and was picking up shells on a beach in Australia. She didn’t know that inside the shell was a blue ringed Octopus. It is one of the most deadly octopuses in the world. A bite from that little creature will paralyze your breathing muscles within minutes. Obviously, after adults discovered this thing they took precautions to avoid a situation. But more importantly the public is often warned about these creatures and taught how to identify and avoid them.

Here was a shell that was seemingly harmless and pleasant to look at and a child unknowingly picked the shell up unaware the octopus was living in there.

Just as people on the beach need to be aware of the hidden dangers of things that look pleasant, so also Jude has been warning us about the hidden dangers of false teaching. He tells us how to avoid stumbling and finding ourselves heart deep in this heresy.

Jude switches to talking about these false teachers to addressing the church “you beloved” same as he mentioned in v.3 So he is pointing out what we are to do in light of what he has just warned about false teachers: He has described their character, their conduct, their lack of conviction regarding the sufficiency and authority of God’s Word. They, remember, had rejected the Word for their dreams and experiences. They had also rejected the deity and authority of Christ. They were now exalting themselves under the guise of the Holy Spirit.

Jude now moves on to what he wants his readers to do in light of the threat of these false teachers. He doesn’t want the true believers to stumble and turn to this false teaching. So he gives them two charges and then three instructions on dealing with them.

The first is to Remember the Word of God. the Second, Keep yourselves in the Love of God. Then in vss. 22-23 he tells them how to address those who are caught up in this heresy and finally to keep focused on Christ.

I. Remember the Word, v.17-19

When the Satan came to Eve to tempt her it was about the Word of God. This is where the false teachers always go astray. As soon as you allow for the insufficiency of the Bible you are on a slippery slope that leads to outright rejection of the Word. Therefore, Jude calls us to the Word.

He calls the true believer to:

A. Remember the Word of the Apostles. The idea of remember implies that this was well known to the readers.

This was equivalent to calling it the Word of God. While the false teachers minimized the Word, Jude calls us to remember the Word, To elevate it to be authoritative over our lives.

This is why or at least one reason why Peter wrote what he did in And Paul reminds us in ,. It is the Word that is elevated by these men. Do not forget the Word. Meditate on it, learn it, practice it, and so on so that The Word has first default in your mind.

B. Remember the Source of the Word,

They were Apostles.

Apostles had to be chosen By God, been with Jesus the duration of His earthly ministry and been witness to His resurrection to qualify to be an apostle. That is why John wrote in commending the Church at Ephesus for testing whether those who claimed to be an apostle and found them liars. Why? Because they did not pass the test listed in .

So it is here. It could have been possible there were still apostles at Jude's writing, At least Peter and John were still alive. And when John wrote Revelation he obviously was still alive.

The apostles wrote before about this. Paul wrote to Timothy and the churches in Galatia.

Peter wrote about these guys. There is ample warning to the churches of the 1st century and therefore to us.

So think of the source of the word

C. Remember the warning of the word v. 18

There would be mockers in the last time:

Mockers/empaiktai - The make fun of or scoff at the word. They don’t need it. They have their dreams and visions and experiences to go on.

The make fun of or scoff at the word. They don’t need it. They have their dreams and visions and experiences to go on.

-walk after their own ungodly lusts

-separate themselves

Ie. chose to not be part of the church but to organize their own. Is the idea.

Jesus said ‘they went out from us because they were not of us.’

—-sensual

—-not having the Spirit

They were saying- this was not just a one time statement as if that were enough. No, this was a continuing on going repeated statement of warning indicated by the imperfect elegon. They kept on saying this. This was crucially important.

They were saying- this was not just one statement as if that were enough. No, this was a continuing on going repeated statement of warning indicated by the imperfect elegon

Mock -first “to play with,” “to dance around,” then “to take one’s sport with someone,” “to mock,” “to mock someone,” also “to deceive,” “to defraud. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. It root word carries the idea of playing a game with someone, as in a cult that dances around and has various means of expressing piety. As in religious dancing and celebrations. Like the Jews in Exodus or even the pagan religions around them. By the time Jude uses this word it carries the idea of treating lightly as did those who mocked Jesus while He hung on the cross. The word that is being used here is coined from the original word thus making light of the Word of God. as they did the person and sacrifice of Christ. These may have been gnostic libertines who claimed a higher experience, knowledge and understanding which came about by their rejection of the Word as their authority. It would have been too restrictive for them. They liked the liberty their own experiences gave them. It is the same old lie of Satan from the garden, “hath God said?” implanting doubt. God is holding back or wants to give a more special revelation.

They are enemies of the cross of Christ. It root word carries the idea of playing a game with someone, as in a cult that dances around and has various means of expressing piety. As in religious dancing and celebrations. Like the Jews in Exodus or even the pagan religions around them. By the time Jude uses this word it carries the idea of treating lightly as did those who mocked Jesus while He hung on the cross. The word that is being used here is coined from the original word thus making light of the Word of God. as they did the person and sacrifice of Christ. These may have been gnostic libertines who claimed a higher experience, knowledge and understanding which came about by their rejection of the Word as their authority. It would have been too restrictive for them. The liked the liberty their own experiences gave them. It is the same old lie of Satan from the garden, “hath God said?” implanting doubt. God is holding back or wants to give a more special revelation.

Jude means this term to be a pejorative one. This scoffer is the opposite of righteous, he is an enemy of the cross of Christ and their attitude is hostile to the Word of God, AS we saw in v.4.

Now it didn’t take til the ‘last time’ for scoffers and false teachers to show up, there were there within decades and have been ever since. What we see today is nothing new.

Notice also these scoffers are going according to their own ungodly lusts/desires.

the text says they walk/go as a normal habit of life. That is their lifestyle is one characterized by following their lusts.Their purpose in life as they saw it was to enjoy themselves in any way possible. Life revolved around their pleasure. They think it, meditate on it and then do what they can to act upon their desires. It is used in ,; as well as . In other words, rather than pursuing God as they say they are, they are really chasing self centered pleasures. they are pursuing the things of the world. They are then diametrically opposed to the Scripture which tells them to do the opposite of what they are doing. So they mock those archaic laws and rules. They say they are free to do what they want. After all the Holy Spirit them told them so in some vision or dream. They appear godly, but in reality are ungodly.

Now the word epithumia of the 39 uses of this word in the NT 25 of them refer to evil craving, as in a sexual lust, but it can refer to longing for things as well. But predominantly it has sexual connotations to it. It is the evil will that precedes the evil actions It is a self indulgent craving that displaces affections for God.

D. remember why they said this, .19

The separate themselves from the church. They become disgruntled with the way church is and start their own. They are divisive, causing divisions among believers by their libertine teaching and calling into question the seemingly strict rules of the church. THey would have been separating themselves by assuming superiority over others by their experiences etc.

They are natural, psuchikoi its root is psyche. The idea is that of sensual, they live on the level of what is sensual, the level of instincts not on a spiritual level. They are under control of their own selfish nature, rather than the control of God’s Spirit. They are worldly minded. The same word used in where the natural/psuchikoi are not able to understand the things of God. They pass themselves off as spiritual, but they are not spiritual in the sense of Holy Spirit spiritual or they would not be acting as they do. In fact the verse also says they do not have the spirit. Some say this is not referring to the Holy Spirit because it lacks the article. However, I think in keeping the context it seems Jude is saying these people do not have the Spirit. They are false professors and absent the Holy Spirit they are not true believers. I think that fits quite well with the context. Better than just saying they do not have any spirit to them. It fits best to take this in the former light. These folks are not even believers Though they would claim they are.

Jude has warned us in a most complete fashion.

We must be on the alert for them so that we will not be taken in by their apparent niceties.In reality these are dangerous people to the body of Christ.

What are we to do?

Remember the Word

Remember its source.

These are the authoritative documents we are to follow, and nothing else.

Remember their warning and why he warned them.

Thus, in contrast to the false teachers we are to depend on the Word of God, in other words, its authority. Because of their source from the God appointed and chosen Apostles, His spokesmen. And thus heed this message from God about these false teachers. So once again he is persistent in telling us to be on the lookout for false teachers and false professors who would promote their false teaching.

Here, then is the first step in making sure that you don’t stumble along with those false teachers.