Who is Jude?

Letter of Jude

A letter written to a church dealing with false teachers who threatened the orthodoxy of the original apostles’ message. Praises and encourages the faithful while condemning the false teachers to judgment.

AUTHOR: Jude, the brother of James and the half-brother of Jesus Christ Himself (see Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3). This is the traditional view, and there is nothing of substance to argue against it. Jude was slow in being accepted into the canon as Scripture. It was not fully accepted until about A.D. 350. This was probably due to Jude’s quoting some apocryphal books (see Jude 9, 14-15). The apocryphal books were written between the Old Testament and the New Testament and have never been counted as Scripture by most believers. Eventually, the book of Jude proved itself as Scripture and was fully accepted by the church. As stated, it is mentioned by the middle of the third century (A.D. 350).

DATE: Uncertain. Somewhere between A.D. 67-90.

There is no clear indication of when the epistle was written. However, there are some factors that point toward a date somewhere between the middle 70s and 80s.

1. Jude refers to a body of beliefs that had been formulated by the church (Jude 3). The church most likely would not formulate a creed of beliefs until after the apostles had begun to die off. As far as is known, all of the apostles had gone on to be with the Lord by the late 60s except for John.

2. Jude challenges the believers to remember the words of the apostles—as though most of the apostles had already passed on and there was a need to look way back over the early years of church history (Jude 17-19).

3. Jude and Peter deal with the same subject of false teachers, and the two books make many of the same points. Because of this, it looks as though Second Peter made use of Jude or Jude made use of Second Peter. Peter probably had access to Jude, incorporating the short book primarily into the second chapter. It is unlikely that Jude would have had access to Second Peter and made use of only the second chapter.

TO WHOM WRITTEN: “To them that are sanctified...preserved...and called” (Jude 1).

Jude wrote to specific people in a particular situation. This is seen in his calling them “beloved” and speaking so directly to them as though he knows them in a most personal way (Jude 3-5, 17-18, 20). But their identity is nowhere given.

PURPOSE: “To exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3-4).

Jude states explicitly that he set out to write about “our common salvation.” But all of a sudden, he changed his epistle to combat false teachers and their apostasy. The false teaching was the same false teaching that John, Paul, and Peter had to combat, that of Gnosticism. (See Introduction, Purpose—First John and Colossians for a discussion of the false teaching. Also, see Col. 1:15 for more discussion.)

SPECIAL FEATURES:

1. Jude is “The Last General Epistle.” That is, it is not written to a particular church so far as we know

2. Jude is “An Epistle of Triads.” That is, the author writes in sets of three. For example, he uses three historic examples of judgments (Jude 5-7), and three great rebels of the Old Testament (Jude 11). Verse one alone has two sets of triads, verse two one set. There are many others easily spotted as one reads the book.

3. Jude is “An Epistle Written to Combat False Teachers and Their Apostasy.” (See Purpose, Introduction—I John for discussion.)

4. Jude is “The Epistle that Covers the Terrible Characteristics and Judgments of False Teachers” (Jude 3-16).

5. Jude is “The Epistle that Tells Believers How to Combat False Teaching” (Jude 17-23).

6. Jude is “An Epistle that Stresses Mercy and Rescue.” Believers are to do all they can to save those polluted and contaminated by false teaching (Jude 22-23).

7. Jude is “The Epistle with the Reassuring Doxology.” No more reassuring words could be chosen to close a letter than the words of Jude 24-25. Of all the closing words of the epistles, these are probably the best known.

I. THE DESCRIPTION OF TRUE BELIEVERS, vv. 1-2

II. THE WARNINGS AGAINST APOSTASY: THE CHARACTERISTICS AND JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS, vv. 3-16

III. THE EXHORTATION TO BELIEVERS, vv. 17-25

I. THE DESCRIPTION OF TRUE BELIEVERS,

VV. 1-2 (vv. 1-2) Introduction: How can we tell whether or not a person is a true minister of God? How can we tell whether or not a person is a true believer? This is the discussion of this passage. Remember: Jude was the brother of our Lord. At first, he did not believe in Jesus Christ. But sometime after the resurrection of Christ, he gave his heart to the Lord and surrendered his life to preach the gospel. Here we see him sitting down and writing to the believers of the first century. And in writing, he wastes no time: right from the start, he describes himself as a true minister of Jesus Christ and his readers as true believers of Christ. Consequently, in his opening remark, we have a picture by which we can measure ourselves, the picture of a true minister and of a true believer. The picture of the true minister (v. 1).

The picture of the true believer (vv. 1-2).

(v. 1) Minister—Servant—Humility: the picture of the true minister. Who is he? Jude says two simple things about himself. a. He says that he is “the servant of Jesus Christ.” This is amazing, for as stated above, Jude was the brother of Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth (Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3; see Jn. 7:1-5, esp. v. 5). At first, he did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed One of God, the Son of God who was to come to earth as the Savior of the world. But note what Jude says here: he says that he is “the servant of Jesus Christ.” He now believes that his brother Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. He believes that his brother Jesus is the Son of God who came into the world to save man. He believes that his brother Jesus can save him from sin, death, and judgment; he believes that his brother Jesus can make him acceptable to God. What an enormous turnaround! What a testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ! Note what else Jude says: he says he is the servant of Jesus Christ.

The Minister of Jesus Christ and his readers as true believers of Christ. Consequently, in his opening remark, we have a picture by which we can measure ourselves, the picture of a true minister and of a true believer

Thought 1. The true minister of God has two very basic traits.

(1) The trait of being the servant and slave of Jesus Christ. And remember: Christ means Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Son of God whom God sent into the world to save men. This is the most basic belief of a true follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore, every true minister of the gospel makes this belief the basis of his life and ministry. He is a true minister because he is the servant and slave of Jesus Christ.

(2) The trait of humility. The true minister walks humbly among believers and before God. No matter how low God’s call is to him, he is thankful for the very fact that God called him. He is, after all, the servant and slave who is available to do the bidding of his Master.

Thought 2. The fact that Jude was a brother of our Lord is glorious evidence that Jesus Christ is exactly who He claimed to be. It is touching when we realize that Jude had lived as the half-brother to Jesus for years. Day in and day out, hour by hour, month by month, and year by year Jude had played, eaten, worked, slept, and gone to school with Jesus. He had roamed the surrounding hills with Jesus as a boy and seen Him play with other children and relate to the neighbors and adults of their neighborhood. Jude had seen how his brother received and responded to adult instruction, teaching, and supervision. He had also probably seen Jesus take over the head of the household when their father, Joseph, had died.

II. THE WARNINGS AGAINST APOSTASY: THE CHARACTERISTICS AND JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS,

(vv. 3-16) Introduction:

There is a terrible danger facing believers, a horrifying danger that always lies right over the horizon. What is it? The danger of false teaching. If a believer swallows false teaching, he dooms himself. Any person who denies that God sent His Son into the world to save man—who denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world—will never be accepted by God. He is doomed to spend eternity cut off from God. Why? Because he has not believed in the name of God’s Son. Time and time again, God warns believers of apostasy. This is the very reason for the books of Jude and Second Peter being written. Strong warnings against false teachers are also issued by Paul in Galatians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, and Titus. There are severe warnings all throughout Hebrews. And Christ Himself gave strong warnings time and again throughout all the gospels. (See Teachers, False—Master Subject Index.) No matter who the person is—no matter how well-liked and influential and attractive his teachings may be—if he denies Jesus Christ and God’s Word, he is a false teacher. Here is the thrust of the letter of Jude, the very purpose for which Jude writes. Here is one of the most horrifying pictures in all of the Bible, a picture of the characteristics and judgment of false teachers.

A suggested division would be Jude 3-7, 8-11, 12-16.)

False teachers are to be opposed by believers (v. 3).

They creep into the church secretly (v. 4).

They are destined for judgment (v. 4).

They are ungodly (v. 4).

They are immoral (v. 4).

They deny the Lord God (v. 4). They are sure to be judged (vv. 5-7).

They are filthy dreamers (have carnal, polluted thoughts) (v. 8).

They reject authority (v. 8).

They scoff at spiritual beings (vv. 8-10).

They go after the way of Cain: unbelief (v. 11).

They go after the way of Balaam: going astray (v. 11).

They go after the way of Korah: rebellion (v. 11).

They are blemishes upon the fellowship of the church (v. 12). They are filled with emptiness and instability (v. 12).

They teach things that are shameful (v. 13). They wander about as a falling star that quickly passes into eternal darkness (v. 13).

They are doomed to be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (vv. 14-15).

They are grumblers and faultfinders (v. 16).

They follow their lusts (v. 16). They use lofty, flowery words but they are empty (v. 16).

They flatter people for personal gain (v. 16).

III. THE EXHORTATION TO BELIEVERS,

(vv. 17-25) Introduction:

Jude has just covered the terrible danger that is facing believers, the horrifying danger of false teachers. And they are within the church. This makes the danger even more terrible, for it means that there are people within the church who do not believe...

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth to save man that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God

There are false teachers within the church, people who claim to be followers of Christ, but they are not. They are people who teach...

That Jesus Christ was a great teacher and leader but not the Son of God who died for our sins. That we can become acceptable to God by being good and doing good

The list could go on and on, but Jude has just covered the traits of false teachers. The present concern is this: What can we do about the false teaching in our midst? This is the exhortation of this passage, and note: it is the final passage of the short letter of Jude.

Remember, there will be mockers in the last times (vv. 17-19).

Build up your lives (vv. 20-21).

Be merciful and rescue people (vv. 22-23).

Walk in the power of God (vv. 24-25). Jude 1:17

Note what Jude says about these mockers or false teachers. Five significant things are said. These are the things that we are to remember about them.

a. The apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted that mockers would come (v. 17). Jude 1:17

b. False teachers walk after their own ungodly lusts (v. 18. See note—Jude 16 for discussion.)

c. False teachers cause division among God’s people within the church (v. 19). There are three ways that they cause division.

1) Their false teaching presents a divided Christianity to the world. God will always have His true teachers who proclaim the truth of His Son and of His Word. When false teachers deny the deity of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, they show a divided church to the world. They show that within the church there are those who say that the church is primarily a social service for man; it is not primarily not a sanctuary where man worships and praises God for His great salvation in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

2) False teachers divide the church; they cause hurt and pain in the hearts of true believers because their Lord and His church are being shamed. In addition, false teachers cause cleavage between mature believers and the followers of the false teacher. True believers cannot go along with false teaching. In fact, Christ and the apostles declared emphatically that true believers must oppose false teaching and do all they can to rid the church of false teachers. Therefore, false teachers always cause division between those who follow their teaching and mature believers who are grounded in the truth of Christ and of God’s Word.

I. THE EXHORTATION TO BELIEVERS,

(vv. 17-25) Introduction:

Jude has just covered the terrible danger that is facing believers, the horrifying danger of false teachers. And they are within the church. This makes the danger even more terrible, for it means that there are people within the church who do not believe...

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth to save man that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God

There are false teachers within the church, people who claim to be followers of Christ, but they are not. They are people who teach...

That Jesus Christ was a great teacher and leader but not the Son of God who died for our sins

That we can become acceptable to God by being good and doing good

The list could go on and on, but Jude has just covered the traits of false teachers. The present concern is this: What can we do about the false teaching in our midst? This is the exhortation of this passage, and note: it is the final passage of the short letter of Jude.

· Remember, there will be mockers in the last times (vv. 17-19).

· Build up your lives (vv. 20-21).

· Be merciful and rescue people (vv. 22-23).

· Walk in the power of God (vv. 24-25). Jude 1:17

Note what Jude says about these mockers or false teachers. Five significant things are said. These are the things that we are to remember about them.

a. The apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted that mockers would come (v. 17). Jude 1:17

b. False teachers walk after their own ungodly lusts (v. 18. See note—Jude 16 for discussion.)

c. False teachers cause division among God’s people within the church (v. 19). There are three ways that they cause division.

1) Their false teaching presents a divided Christianity to the world. God will always have His true teachers who proclaim the truth of His Son and of His Word. When false teachers deny the deity of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, they show a divided church to the world. They show that within the church there are those who say that the church is primarily a social service for man; it is not primarily not a sanctuary where man worships and praises God for His great salvation in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

2) False teachers divide the church; they cause hurt and pain in the hearts of true believers because their Lord and His church are being shamed. In addition, false teachers cause cleavage between mature believers and the followers of the false teacher. True believers cannot go along with false teaching. In fact, Christ and the apostles declared emphatically that true believers must oppose false teaching and do all they can to rid the church of false teachers. Therefore, false teachers always cause division between those who follow their teaching and mature believers who are grounded in the truth of Christ and of God’s Word.