Folks, I apologize. It’s been a while since I wrote anything. I’ve just been that busy ever since around the beginning of November, and it’s like things haven’t slowed down since.
I’m thankful for these moments, when there are no other obligations to be met urgently, save for what I have in my own head. If anything, it is my prayer for you, dear reader, to have the time and energy to work on things you’ve held off on for too long. It’s my prayer that we may be able to tick off more and more items off of our to-do list – those ones we’ve been holding off on doing, and those ones we’ve been afraid to face.
At church we’ve been reading and writing a lot, first about the book of Romans, and then just recently the book of 2 Timothy. I have no regrets over going through these parts of the New Testament, chapter after chapter every Sunday, for it has challenged me to stack idea upon idea, for us to come upon revelations and thoughts that could only come to the surface by way of extended meditation and deeper pondering.
Not to say that they’re complicated thoughts and ideas – Not at all! For, see, in the case of the book of Romans, if I was to go ahead and put it all together in one sentence, I’d share it, for both the scholar who has time in his hands, and the worker who has too much on his plate: Christ has saved us with such a great, complete, absolute, and endless salvation.
Meaningful conversations usually follow after that line is mentioned.
I thought we’d be looking into the book of 2 Timothy with the next generations in mind, but lo and behold, we ended with something applicable for the young at heart, just as much as our children – that is, that Everyone in the body of Christ has the Holy Spirit working from the inside out, and the Word of the Lord working from the outside in.
I haven’t necessarily tested it yet but I’m pretty sure meaningful conversations also follow after that line is mentioned.
With the final five Sundays of 2024 upon us, I suppose I should be a little bit more mindful about what I have to share to everyone. For example, we’re not really having much of a message on December 15, because that’ll be our Christmas Party. December 22 is automatically reserved for a Christmas Message, and December 29 would be a message where we announce our theme for 2025.
Speaking of, that means December 8 is not only my Dad’s birthday, but it’s a day for us to reflect on what we’ve been going through, and what messages we’ve compiled throughout this very colorful year, 2024…
…meaning I have a little more liberty with my choice of topic this coming Sunday, December 1. And for a while now, it’s been the book of Jude and its single, solitary chapter that’s been ‘calling out’ for me to have a look into, and possibly discuss with our congregation.
With that said, let’s go.
1 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: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
So it’s not just Paul, but Jude who also follows a template, or a format which I’m brought to thinking was the standard at the time in letter-writing. If we’ve been around during these times, we’d have introduced ourselves by name, followed by any ‘credentials’ to more or less authenticate the message that follows; Then, we’d identify who our letter is for, before opening with a pleasant greeting. Note to myself – I should probably take care to cover the same details and formalities in my own speaking arrangements, or even in my own writing.
Before we move further I thought it nice for us to see Jude’s choice of words… For in them we also see a little more of what it ought to mean for us when we say we are of the body of Christ: That is, that we are servants who are kept for Jesus Christ, and that we ought to be reminded every time we get that we are called in God, and beloved in Him, as He is our Father. Indeed, as we continue to read, and as I continue to write, may mercy, peace and love be multiplied to us. Amen.
Judgment on False Teachers
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
In case we aren’t aware, we ought to be warned – there will always be the very real possibility that there are people in our congregations that do not necessarily agree with what Jude calls our ‘common salvation’ (And, to clarify, I’m taking a gander here to say that it isn’t ‘common’ as in plain, but rather such a great and glorious salvation; but one that ALL of us have in the body of Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, etc.).
But more on that later. For now, let’s give a little more attention to where Jude mentions that they ‘pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ’; see, I have reason to believe that these two come together; For one to “pervert the grace of God” means ultimately to interpret it according to our own limited analysis, and it’s no surprise that when this happens, we misinterpret the grace of God as an excuse for our going“into sensuality“. When we refuse to go beyond the (false) assumption that God’s grace means we could do anything we want, we’re (1) putting ourselves – Our shallow comfort, our limited knowledge, our seemingly extensive (but really infinitesimal) experiences – in the forefront and on the pedestal, while simultaneously (2) denying the truth of Christ’s infinite Mastery and eternal Lordship.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
I was going to go through segment after segment of verses, but I just thought I’d bring it all in together here.
False teachers comprise of both ungodly men and angels who have fallen from the faith; In their ungodliness, they are people who ‘(rely) on their dreams’, and what they ‘understand instinctively”
‘Abandoning themselves for the sake of gain‘ they ‘defile the flesh’
They ‘reject authority’; they ‘blaspheme the glorious ones‘, and ‘all that they do not understand.’
They are as hidden reefs’, ‘waterless clouds, swept along by winds’, ‘fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead’, ‘wild waves of the sea, casting up… their own shame’, ‘wandering stars, from whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever’. They are ‘grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage’
They too have been designated for condemnation; for them the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
When we put it all together like this we have a list seemingly familiar to the one we read in 2 Timothy 3: “people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth”.
…And do you notice one thing in common between these folks as described in 2 Timothy 3:2-7, and these false teachers as described in Jude 1:3-16?
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
2 Timothy 3:8
One group rejects the Truth and worships themselves as a result, while the other group rely on themselves first, and downplays the Truth as a result. Either way, they oppose the Truth.
A Call to Persevere
As we continue down the line, we read the following: 17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
In verse 3, we read: Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Those of us who are in the body of Christ have a mandate – yes, we are not opposing the Truth; We TRUST in the Truth! We DEPEND on the Truth! However, we’re reminded here, that we aren’t merely to be sustained by the Truth, but we’re also supposed to be thriving in it. We aren’t merely contending for our faith – did you catch it? We’re also building ourselves up in our most holy faith.
We reminded ourselves some time last January, and then last June, about how we are experiencing different sorts of famines in this day and age – they aren’t merely shortages of food, but they’re shortages of nutritious food, and overabundance of cheap poison masquerading as food. We’re also experiencing famine in different ways; we aren’t merely suffering shortages of knowledge, but shortages of the Truth, and overabundance of lies – falsehoods, half-truths, and distractions.
Finally, we see here in Jude as we saw in the book of 2 Timothy – There will be persecution from the outside in, and there will be fear and torment from the inside out.
There will also be more and more people who oppose the Truth. There will be more and more people who reject the Truth and worship themselves, and there will be more and more people who worship themselves, and downplay the Truth.
We’re reminded, here and now, of how it is absolutely necessary and critical for those of us in the body of Christ to not only find safety and comfort in the Truth, but to be rooted deeper in it! Yes, lest we forget, there is a clear danger in staying in the shallow waters of what we believe in. It is our prayer that we would all see the leading of the Holy Spirit, that we would all see the value of the Word; And, in so doing, we find ourselves standing in battles, confrontations, and otherwise hostile circumstances no matter how complicated, challenging, and/or critical they may be.
The deeper we get into the Truth, and the deeper we allow the Truth to get ‘into’ us, the quicker we go past the shallow ‘feel-good’ messages that any hack or AI could generate; The quicker we go past the generic positivity, the cheap dopamine hits, the shallow offers of pleasure, the seedy promises of worldly fulfillment.
Is it, therefore, a ‘work’ for us to do? Or is this something that ought to come to us naturally in the body of Christ? To both, I say, ‘Yes’. We oft quote how ‘My people perish because of lack of knowledge’, I submit that we also perish because of a lack of curiosity. Perhaps we are able, on our own, to conjure a motivation to truly seek the Truth in the Word as we live, or in the life that comes to us as we go through the Word – But, lest we forget, we aren’t alone anymore in this fallen reality.
Yes, we have each other in the body of Christ, and that truly is valuable – but, more than this, we are all kept in the everlasting love our Father; We all have Christ, the Lover of our Souls… and by His finished work, we have the Holy Spirit – we are able to pray in the Holy Spirit.
What an adventure we have! We’re celebrating our eternal life in this finite existence. We’re not only sustained, but thriving in the faith Christ has authored into us. We’re not only protected, but we go forth confidently in battle, knowing that the Truth we have has not only set us free FROM sin, but free TOWARDS righteousness!
Doxology
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Thank God for His revelations for us!
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