Called, Beloved, & Kept

Jude 1–2 ESV

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Jude

Half brother of Jesus, yet he identifies as of servant of Jesus.

He did not believe in Jesus at first. John 7:5 “For not even his brothers believed in him.”

Perhaps came to belief when his brother James did. 1 Cor 15:7 “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

To Those Who Are Called/Beloved/Kept

Jude’s audience is dealing with Gnosticism

Denied the incarnation (Jesus didn’t die for sin)

Denied the Scriptures (They don’t have authority)

Denied Christian ethics (You can live however you want)

Gnostics where motivated by money and power. Jude’s audience was most likely Jews who were familiar with the OT. In this letter, Jude will challenge them to remember what the OT says about God and how he dealt with immorality.

Mercy is God’s kindness, and its usually seen when God withholds a negative consequence that we deserve. God is not mean and vengeful.

Peace is when our relationship is in right standing because of Jesus. Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” A crucial component of peace is propitiation, which is a sacrifice that appeases wrath. God is not vindictive, but he does have wrath toward sin. John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

God is love and his character shows what love is. 1 Corinthians 13:6 “(Love) does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Everything God does is out of love, even when he disciplines or punishes people. God’s love is how we stand against lies since we know what love is and be a family of faith. 1 John 4:9-11 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”