Jude 17-25

I read somewhere that the Great Wall of China was penetrated at least three times by the enemy, and each time the guards were bribed!

A strong defense depends on strong people, and this applies to spiritual battles as well as military contests.

If the church is to oppose and defeat the false teachers, then all of us in the church must be strong and able to “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). There is always the danger of stumbling (Jude 24), and a stumble is the first step toward a fall.

In this closing paragraph, Jude addressed his beloved readers and gave them four instructions to follow if they would stand firm and resist the apostates.

Jude 17–19 CSB

17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

1. REMEMBER GOD’S WORD (17–19)

From the very beginning, Satan has attacked the Word of God. “Yea, hath God said?” was his opening thrust when he led Eve into disobedience in the garden (Gen. 3:1). Once we begin to question God’s Word, we are vulnerable to Satan’s other attacks, for only the truth of the Word can protect us from the lies of the devil. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8:20).

Remember who gave the Word (v. 17). While our Lord had many disciples, He selected only a few to be apostles. The word means “one who is sent with a commission.” In order to qualify, a believer had to be a witness of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:21–22; 1 Cor. 9:1). The apostles lived with Christ during His ministry, learned from Him, and were sent by Him into all the world to carry the good news of salvation.

Wherever there is the authentic, the counterfeit will appear; this happened in the early church. False apostles and teachers began to appear, and it was necessary to develop a system to protect the church against false prophecies and forged letters. Since Christ had committed “the faith” (Jude 3) to His apostles, one of the main tests in the early church was “Is this what the apostles taught?” When the church assembled the New Testament books, it was required that each book be written either by an apostle or by someone closely associated with an apostle. Apostolic teaching was, and still is, the test of truth.

Jude mentioned the words that were “spoken” by the apostles, because originally there were no New Testament epistles. Over the years, inspired letters were written by Paul, Peter, and John; we have these letters in our New Testament. We also have a record of some of their sermons in the book of Acts. We no longer depend on tradition since we have the completed Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New.

Whenever somebody offers you a “new revelation,” test it by what the apostles wrote and by what Jesus Christ taught. You will soon discover that the “revelation” is a lie.

Remember what they said (v. 18). They prophesied that, in these last days, mockers would come who would deny the Word of God. Jude echoed what Peter had written (2 Peter 3:3ff.), but Paul and John also warned their readers about the apostates (1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3; 1 John 2:18ff.; 4:1–6). When a warning is given so many times, it behooves us to take it seriously!

The phrase “walking after their own lusts” appears in 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 16 and 18, and it explains why the apostates deny God’s truth: They do not want God to tell them how to live. They want to satisfy their own sinful desires, and the Word of God condemns their selfish way of life. When a person says, “I have intellectual problems with the Bible,” he probably has moral problems because the Bible contradicts what he is doing. The only sure way to know the truth of the Bible is by obeying it (John 7:17).

Before Satan can substitute his own lies, he must get rid of the truth of God’s Word. If he cannot argue it away, he will laugh it away, and he can usually find somebody to laugh with him.

Remember why they said it (v. 19). The false teachers want to divide the church and lead people out of the true fellowship into their false fellowship. “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). Their appeal is usually, “We have a deeper knowledge of the Word that your church doesn’t have! We have a better understanding of prophecy, or of the Christian life, than you do.” They offer a “higher quality” religion than that of the apostles.

Not only do false teachers divide the church, but they also deceive the church, because they are “sensual, having not the Spirit.” The word sensual means the opposite of “spiritual.” This is the way Paul used it in 1 Corinthians 2:14–16, where it is translated “natural.” (The Greek word is psukikos, which means “soulish.”) Because the false teachers do not have the Spirit of God, they must function on their natural “soul power” alone.

One of the tragedies in ministry today is that some of God’s people cannot discern between “soul ministry” and the true ministry of the Spirit. There is so much religious showmanship these days that the saints are confused and deceived. Just as there was “false fire” in the tabernacle (Lev. 10), so there is false fire today in the church; therefore, we must exercise careful discernment.

How can we discern between the “soulish” and the “spiritual”? By using the Word of God, which is able to divide soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12) and by paying close attention to the witness of the Spirit of God within (Rom. 8:16). A “soulish” ministry magnifies man, but the Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ. When the Spirit is ministering through the Word, there is edification; but when the soul is merely “manufacturing” a ministry, there is entertainment or, at best, only intellectual education. It takes the Spirit of God to minister to our spirits and to make us more like Jesus Christ.

Jude 20–21 CSB

20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

2. BUILD YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE (20–21)

The Christian life must never stand still; if it does, it will go backward. A house left to itself falls apart. The apostates are in the business of tearing down, but each Christian must be involved in building up—first, his own spiritual life and then his local assembly.

The foundation for our Christian life is our “most holy faith” (Jude 20), which is the same as “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). There is a sense, of course, in which our faith in Jesus Christ is the basis for our growth, but even that faith depends on what God has revealed to us in His Word. Subjective faith depends on objective revelation of truth.

The Word of God is certainly central in spiritual growth. I have yet to meet a strong, fruitful Christian who ignores his Bible. We must daily spend devotional

time in the Word, seeking the mind of God. We must also study the Word regularly, in a disciplined way, so that we better understand what it teaches. The gifted Chinese preacher, Watchman Nee, used to read through the New Testament once a month. This becomes apparent when you read his books, for you are struck with his wonderful insights into God’s Word. The members of the Chinese church used to have a saying, “No Bible—no breakfast!” If we followed that motto in America, I wonder how many Christians would go hungry.

The power for building the Christian life comes from prayer: “praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20). The Word of God and prayer go together in spiritual growth. If all we do is read and study the Bible, we will have a great deal of light but not much power. However, if we concentrate on prayer and ignore the Bible, we may be guilty of zeal without knowledge. We read the Word to grow in faith (Rom. 10:17), then we use that faith to ask God for what we need and what His Word tells us we may have.

The Word of God and prayer certainly go together (Acts 6:4). Evangelist Billy Sunday used to give his converts three rules for success in the Christian life. Each day they were to read the Bible and let God talk to them. They were to pray; in other words, they were to talk to God. And they were to witness and talk to others about God. It would be difficult to improve on those rules.

What does it mean to “pray in the Holy Spirit”? (Note the contrast with Jude 19— “having not the Spirit.”) It means to pray according to the leading of the Spirit. It has well been said, “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven—it is getting God’s will done on earth.” This agrees with 1 John 5:14–15.

As Christians, we may pray in solitude (Matt. 6:6), but we never pray alone; the Spirit of God joins with us as we pray (Rom. 8:26–28) because He knows the mind of God and can direct us. He can give us wisdom and knowledge from the Word (Eph. 1:15ff.). He can also help us approach the Father through the access we have in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:18). We worship God “in the Spirit” (Phil. 3:3), and the Spirit motivates us to pray, for He is “the Spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10). When the believer is yielded to the Spirit, then the Spirit will assist him in his prayer life, and God will answer prayer.

This “building process” in the Christian life involves the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and prayer. But these things, as precious as they are, can become somewhat routine; so Jude added another factor, abiding in God’s love (Jude 21). He did not write, “Keep yourselves saved!” because he had already assured them that they were “preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1). He wrote, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” Our Lord made a similar statement recounted in John 15:9: “Continue ye in my love.”

To love God means much more than to enjoy a special kind of feeling. Of course, as we grow in grace, we do experience deeper fellowship with the Father (John 14:21–24), and we do have times when He seems very near. The Bible compares this with the love of a husband and wife (Eph. 5:22ff.). Any happily married couple can tell you that love deepens over the years.

But it takes more than ecstatic feelings to make a successful marriage—or a successful Christian life! There must also be obedience and mutual concern. “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected” (1 John 2:5). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (John 15:10). We grow in our love for God as we listen to His Word, obey it, and delight in doing what pleases Him. That is how we keep ourselves in God’s love.

God’s love is a holy love; it is not shallow sentiment. “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil” (Ps. 97:10). To love God is to love what He loves and hate what He hates! We please Him by doing those things that He commands. It is the dedicated, separated Christian who enjoys the deepest fellowship with the Father in the family (2 Cor. 6:14–18).

We build our Christian life on the foundation of faith and through the motivation of love. But we also need hope: “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” The believer’s eyes must be lifted heavenward. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:12).

The word translated “looking” (Jude 21) means “earnestly expecting.” It describes an attitude of life that is motivated by the promise of our Lord’s return. The apostates can only look for judgment, but God’s people are looking for mercy. Not only is our salvation from sin the gift of God’s mercy, but also so is the deliverance of His church from this evil world. In His mercy, He will come for us and take us to Himself.

We have already noted that looking for the coming of the Lord is a great encouragement to Christian living. It makes us want to keep pure (1 John 3:3) and to avoid the things of the flesh and the world (Phil. 3:17–21). Our hope in Christ is like an anchor (Heb. 6:19) that holds us in the storms of life, and like a helmet that protects us in the battles of life (1 Thess. 5:8).

The three “Christian graces” of faith, hope, and love enable us to grow in our spiritual walk. We are able to build on a solid foundation with materials that will not decay. Mere profession with the lips will not suffice. “Not everyone that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). The parable of the two builders (Matt. 7:24–27) makes it clear that to obey the will of God means to build on a foundation that cannot fail.

Jude 22–23 CSB

22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

3. EXERCISE SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT (22–23)

What should be the attitude of the growing Christian toward those who are being influenced by the apostates? Jude instructed his readers to exercise discernment and to act on the basis of that discernment. He described three different kinds of people who need spiritual help. The New American Standard Bible makes this clear:

And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

(1) The doubting (v. 22). These are the people who are wavering. They are probably the “unstable souls” Peter wrote about (2 Peter 2:14). These people are converted, but they are not grounded in the faith. Our responsibility is to have mercy on them, or show compassion toward them, by seeking to lead them away from the influences of the apostates. This kind of ministry demands a great deal of love and patience, and we must keep in mind that immature believers are like little children who think they know right from wrong. If you say no to them, they will only rebel and become more stubborn!

One of the best ways to draw them away from the false teachers is to magnify all that they have in Christ and to share His love for them in practical ways. Make their salvation so wonderful and the Word so exciting that they will lose interest in the teachings of the apostates. It is not enough merely to refute the false doctrines. There must also be a warmth of love that assures the young believer, “We care for you.”

It is an open secret that false teachers prey especially on disgruntled church members. (Note Jude 16—“murmurers” and “complainers.”) It is important that the pastor and the people show special love and concern to new Christians and that they also minister to the mature members of the church, lest somebody stray because of neglect. Paul sent Timothy to the young believers in Thessalonica so that he might establish them in their faith (1 Thess. 3:2). Every young Christian needs a more mature believer to teach him how to stand and walk.

(2) The burning (v. 23a). Apparently these are the people who have left the fellowship and are now a part of the apostate group. They need to be snatched out of the fire! The angels took Lot by the hand and pulled him out of Sodom (Gen. 19:16), and sometimes that must be done in order to rescue ignorant and unstable believers from the clutches of false teachers.

There is probably a reference here to Zechariah 3:2 and also Amos 4:11. In

the Zechariah passage, the brand was the nation Israel brought back from the Babylonian captivity and resettled in their land. God saw the people as a brand saved from the fire. In Amos 4, God was reproving the people for not heeding His warnings and judgments—poverty, poor crops, drought, pestilences, war, and even judgments like those that overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. They were as a brand plucked out of the fire, yet they did not appreciate God’s mercy.

(3) The dangerous (v. 23b). The phrase with fear means “with caution.” In trying to help those who have erred, we must be careful not to be trapped ourselves! Many a would-be rescuer has been drowned himself. When an unstable believer has been captured by false doctrine, we must be very careful as we try to help him, for Satan can use him to defile us. In trying to save him, we may be stained or burned ourselves!

The principle Jude was laying down was that stronger believers must never think they are beyond satanic influence. Even while serving the Lord and seeking to rescue one of His children, we can become defiled by those we want to help. The Old Testament Jews had to be very careful to avoid ceremonial defilement, and this included even their clothing (Lev. 13:47ff.; 14:47; 15:17). If a “clean” person touched an “unclean” garment, then he was defiled.

We certainly must love God’s people, but we must also hate sin. Wherever there is sin, Satan has a foothold and can go to work. Defilement spreads rapidly and secretly, and it must be dealt with drastically. If the Jewish priest thought that a garment was infected with leprosy, he had the garment burned.

Not every Christian is equipped to deal with false teachers or with those they have influenced and captured. It takes a good knowledge of the Word, a faithful walk with God, an understanding of Satan’s devices, and certainly the fullness of the Spirit of God. It also demands spiritual discernment. It is much easier to instruct new Christians and keep them away from the false teachers than it is to snatch them out of the fire.

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

4. COMMIT YOURSELF TO JESUS CHRIST (24–25)

This well-known benediction contains a wealth of spiritual truth for the believer to receive. If we want to keep our feet on the ground spiritually, walk straight, and not stumble, then we must yield ourselves fully to the Savior. He alone is able to guard us, but we must “keep [ourselves] in the love of God” (Jude 21). He is able if we are willing!

Jude was not writing about the possibility of the believer sinning and falling from God’s family. We have noted before that he made it clear in Jude 1 that true believers are “preserved” and cannot be lost. He was writing about the

believer’s daily walk with the Lord and the danger of going astray and stumbling. If we do disobey God, we may confess our sins and receive His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). If we persist in disobedience, He will chasten us in love (Heb. 12:5–11). He will never permit one of His own to be lost.

The Father has covenanted with the Son that all of His people will one day see and share His glory (see John 17:22–24). Jesus Christ will have the special joy of presenting His bride, the church, before the Father’s throne! It was the anticipation of this “joy” that helped Him endure the sufferings of the cross (Heb. 12:2). The purpose of salvation is not simply to rescue sinners from hell, as wonderful as that is. The grand purpose is that God may be glorified for all eternity (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14).

Today, there are spots and blemishes in the church, but on that day God’s people shall be blameless. Satan will find nothing to accuse. The bride will be arrayed in the righteousness of Christ to the glory of God.

Knowing this, the believer has a strong motive for living for Christ and obeying His Word. We want to bring joy to His heart today as we anticipate the joy He will have when He welcomes His bride to heaven! This is the significance of 1 John 3:3: “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (cf. Eph. 5:27; Phil. 2:15).

Jude 25 is the only place in this little letter where Jude called our Lord “Savior.” Peter used this title five times. But Jude opened his letter by reminding his readers of “the common salvation” (Jude 3) that they shared because of their faith in Jesus Christ. It is not enough to say that Jesus Christ is a savior, or the Savior; we must say that He is our Savior—my Savior.

He is not only our Savior, but He is “the only wise God.” He can give you the wisdom you need to live your life to the glory of God. The false teachers boasted of their special knowledge, but they lacked spiritual wisdom. God gives wisdom to those who ask Him (James 1:5), provided they are sincerely willing to obey Him. If Christians would seek the wisdom of God in the Word of God, they would not stumble into the traps of the false teachers, but would walk to please the Lord (Col 1:9–10).

Why should we walk in obedience to God’s will? So that Christ might receive the glory!

Glory is the sum total of all that God is and all that God does. Everything about Him is glorious! The glory of man fades as the mown grass, but the glory of God goes on eternally.

Majesty means “greatness, magnificence.” Only God is great. When we praise God, we praise the most magnificent person in the universe. He is not simply King; He is King of Kings! He is not simply Lord; He is Lord of Lords!

Dominion has to do with God’s sovereignty and rule over all things. The Greek word means “strength, might,” but it carries the idea of complete control over all things.

Power means “authority,” which is the right to use power. All authority belongs to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18), including authority over the powers of darkness (Eph. 1:19–23). As we yield to Him, we share His authority and accomplish His will.

What a magnificent doxology this is! Knowing the purpose Jude had in mind when he wrote this letter, this doxology takes on even greater significance. Jude was reminding his readers of the greatness of Jesus Christ. If only they could catch that, they would never be led astray by false teachers. Like the young man who falls in love and marries, and is no longer interested in his old girlfriends, so the believer who keeps himself “in the love of God” (Jude 21), caught up in the glories of the Savior, will never want to turn to Satan’s substitutes.

You don’t have to stumble.

If you will remember the Word, build your Christian life in faith, hope, and love, exercise spiritual discernment, and commit yourself to Christ, then He will keep you from stumbling.

Be alert!

The enemy is subtle and the dangers are great.

But the only wise God your Savior will keep you safe and one day present you joyfully in glory!

Next Week: Abide In Christ