Jude 1-10, The great danger of false teaching

Background:

Assume Jesus death	33
Galatians	49-51
1 & 2 Thess	49-51
Mark / Matt / Luke	60-68
Destruction of Temple	70
John / 1,2,3 John / Rev	80-90

Jude - Geisler says 67-69; Ryrie 70-80; Unger et al 67-80
We will look at the audience and author next


Jude 1–2 (ESV) — 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.


• What does Jude say about himself and also what does he not say about himself?
• He is the brother of James
• James is head of the church of Jerusalem
• James is associated with the idea of maintaining the law (Gal 2:12)
• James takes the lead in describing the requirements for Gentile believers (Acts 15:13, 19-21)
• He does not say he is the brother of Jesus
• Could be humility
• Could be shame, because he did not believe
• Not sure when Jude did believe, although 1 Cor 15:7 mentions Jesus appearing to James after the resurrection
• Audience is probably a Jewish audience
• Because of his association with James
• Because of the use of the Hebrew scriptures
• Because of his use of topics that most Gentiles would not be familiar


Jude 3–4 (ESV) — 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.


• What was his original intent in writing a letter, and why does he change it?
• He wanted to write a letter about the salvation they share (would be a positive aspect)
• He felt "compelled" to write about contending for the faith (negative)
• Particular Greek word is the only usage in the NT. It is a compound word, but the gist is that one agonizes in a struggle or wrestling match
• So the issue at the heart of this letter is what? Error and false teaching
• How does Jude describe these men they must be contended?
• Condemnation written long ago: this is not an indication of predestined but rather that this behavior was expected (foreknowledge) and to be judged
• Secretly slipped in among you: not noticed, possibly never believers, clearly do not hold to the basics truths of scripture but have kept their rebellion hidden
• Godless men: characterized by an irreverent attitude toward God; a scoffer; a person who lives in opposition to God
• What is their philosophical bent?
• Misunderstanding of grace: they basically use the idea of grace to justify sin
• Antinomianism: free from the moral law by virtue of grace
• Gnosticism: somewhat related to both arguments in the sense of some secret knowledge available to a select few
• Deny Jesus as God
• And by denying Jesus' authority it removes the need to obey him
• APPLICATION: Doctrinal deviation often accompanies and often justifies ethical and moral sin (Constable, 2010)


Jude 5–7 (ESV) — 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.


• Three examples are given. What is the common theme?
• In two of the three, are cases of groups of people who pervert God's grace
• In all three cases, we see the results of denying God's authority
• First case is the Exodus. What do we know of the people?
• Saved. Passed through the water. Saw God's great power. Fed by manna. Given the word in the wilderness. Protected
• Rejected God's command to take the land because of the giants. Continually complained to God because life lacked variety (lust of the flesh)
• [As a side note, being chosen and elect of God is not a guarantee of anything on earth]
• Second case is the Angels
• Jude seems to be quoting an apocryphal book (Book of Enoch), in which case, he would be confirming what it said, but not ascribing diving inspiration (Constable, 2010). Paul also quoted non-biblical references (Ac 17:28)
• Special rank, privilege, and access
• Followed Lucifer's lies. Satan is the first Gnostic
• Third case is Sodom and Gomorrah
• No sense are they believers, but apparently they knew God's prohibition against sexual immorality and perversion (which would be homosexuality). Also, issue was greed
• They had life (Lot describes the land as lush), but they gave it up for sin
• They are also judged and serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire
• Why warn believers? Two of the three cases are believers


Jude 8–10 (ESV) — 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.


• Why call them dreamers?
• Possibly they profess prophetic visions
• How do they pollute their own bodies? Three errors?
• Defile the flesh (lust) -- see in vs 7
• 1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (ESV) — 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
• Sexual sin is a sin against God (Ps 51:4) and against our own body, which in the NT is a temple of the HS
• Reject authority (rebellion) -- see in vs 5
• There is no higher authority -- I am my own master or god
• Blaspheme the glorious ones (irreverence) -- seen in vs 6
• Idea of a scoffer. I can say what I want because they don't exist
• This is a Jewish story about an argument over the body of Moses (it is in an apocryphal book, The Assumption of Moses)
• Michael is one of the chief angels and according to tradition is Israel's defender. The story says that Moses' tomb was put under the authority of Michael. In some manner, Satan brings an insulting charge against Michael, but Michael does not reply in the same way
• The point of the story, is that even though Michael was in the right, he still didn't speak abusively against Satan, though we might think he was in the right
• We need to watch our words. Specifically I think of Facebook
• Our words need to be gracious and seasoned with salt (emphasize civility)
• When we talk and act like the world, we hurt our witness and our opportunity to show the difference Christ can make in our life
• The point of contrast between the false teachers and Michael is not that Michael treated the devil with respect, and the moral is not that we should be polite even to the devil. The point of contrast is that Michael could not reject the devil’s accusation on his own authority. Even though the devil was motivated by malice and Michael recognized that his accusation was slanderous, he could not himself dismiss the devil’s case, because he was not the judge. All he could do was ask the Lord, who alone is judge, to condemn Satan for his slander. The moral is therefore that no one is a law to himself, an autonomous moral authority.”43 (Bauckham)


• APPLICATION: The NFL handed down a punishment against Sean Payton, coach of the Saints. In his apology, he talked about the not demeaning the shield (the reference to the NFL shield--
"Respecting our great game and the NFL shield is extremely important to me"). Why don't we as believers care more about our witness for Jesus Christ?