JUDE AND APOSTASY
It has been a minute since I have made a blog entry, but I felt that a rainy, fall day in West Tennessee was a perfect time to make an entry. Today, I would like to talk briefly about the first few verses of the Book of Jude.
The Book of Jude is an interesting and difficult book to understand. Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, intended to write an essay on the subject of salvation similar to what Paul wrote to the Romans.
Jude 3
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
The Holy Spirit changed Jude’s mind, and Jude wrote, instead, a remarkable letter on apostasy. Apostasy, as we will see, is one of the marks of the last day church. Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude addressed it. That ought to warn us about the seriousness of apostasy within the church, and by the church, dear friend, I mean local congregations in particular and whole denominations in general.
What is apostasy? Apostasy is having a knowledge of the truth but falling away from it or rejecting it. An apostate is not a genuine believer. A true believer can become a backslider and sink into serious, shameful sin. A true believer can be led astray by doctrinal error. God, however, is patient with such a believer, and the Holy Spirit will convict the true believer of the error or sin in his or her life. Jude is not addressing backsliders. He is addressing apostates. The horror of apostasy seemed to be surfacing everywhere in the latter days of the apostolic age, and that is why Jude wrote his vivid little essay. I think we would agree that we are living in the Laodicean Age of the church.
Revelation 3: 15 – 20
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.
We are living in an age marked by lukewarmness in the church, by apostasy in seminary, and by liberalism in the pulpit itself. I am not talking about being politically liberal. I am talking about taking the Scripture and redefining what the Bible says about Jesus and sin. Jude is the man for our apostate age. His trumpet sounds the imminent coming of the Lord. His voice is the last to speak in our Bible before the Apocalypse takes place.
I just want to share with you examples of how seriously the writers of the epistles took apostasy, and remember, they wrote their letters to Christians warning them, in particular about apostasy, to be constantly on guard to keep the apostates from slipping into the church.
Paul, 2 Thessalonians 2: 1 – 3
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
John, 1 John 2: 19
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
Peter, 2 Peter 2: 1 – 3
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time, their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
James, James 1: 13 – 15
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
These four wrote 20 of the 27 books of the New Testament if my math is correct. What they wrote are the nuts and bolts of Christianity, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they wrote extensively on this issue of apostasy. Apostasy is dangerous as Jude will tell us.
I. AN IMPRESSIVE NAME
A. The Servant
Jude 1a
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
Jude was the half-brother of Jesus and the brother of James, but Jude does not mention his family relation to Jesus. He, instead, describes himself as the servant of Jesus Christ. What mattered to Jude was not the natural relationship to Jesus through his mother but the spiritual relationship with Him through God the Father.
B. The Savior
Jude 1b
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
This is amazing and interesting. Whenever the two names Jesus Christ are mentioned in combination, the order is important.
In the gospels, the name Jesus Christ means Jesus, the Messiah. In the epistles, it means Jesus, the One who humbled Himself but who is now exalted and glorified as Christ. Christ Jesus points to the exalted One who once humbled Himself. Jesus is His human name; Christ is His heavenly name. Jesus points to the man; Christ points to the ministry. By saying Jesus Christ, Jude is emphasizing the humanity of the Lord, something apostates denied and deny.
But not only was Jesus the Man, He was the Christ, the God, something else the apostates denied and are still denying. Thoughts of Jesus filled the mind of Jude. Few people had known Jesus as he had known Him. Jesus was his divine older brother.
Can we explore this for a minute?
Can you imagine the stories Jude could have shared? He could have talked about His kindness, thoughtfulness, goodness, willingness, love, and intelligence. He could have told us of Jesus’ obedience. I am sure Jesus was always willing to lend a helping hand with chores and homework. I have heard Jesus was an Algebra expert. Jesus never said a hasty word. He was never angry, cross, selfish, or unkind. Can you imagine what Jude could have told us about that home?
But Jude ignored all such things. It was clear in his mind who and what Jesus was. In Jesus, absolute deity and perfect humanity were perfectly blended and balanced. The Jehovah of the Old Testament was the Jesus of the New Testament. The Christ of the New Testament was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, and now, Jude was his servant, the bondslave of Jesus Christ.
C. The Saints
Jude 1
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
Jude identifies three important truths.
1. We are sanctified
Sanctification is that relationship with God into which we enter when we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Sanctification carries the idea of being set apart for God, of being made holy, of being made like God. It tells us that as believers we are to be separated from evil ways. True believers have been set apart to be like Him.
Now, this gets a little tricky and touches a raw nerve with many of us. Jude is addressing apostates, but as true believers, we downplay the seriousness of someone who claims to be a Christian that lives in habitual sin. A true believer will not, cannot do that because the Holy Spirit will convict them, God will chastise them, God will send a messenger, and if that does not work, God will remove them. Look how John says it:
1 John 2 : 3 – 6
3 Now by this we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
This is not saying a true Christian will never sin, but it is saying a true Christian will be motivated to do what God requires in His Word of him or her. If a person can habitually live in sin without ever having their eyes on the commandments of God, dear friend, I am telling you that person needs to be saved. I am not judging. That is what the Bible says.
Can I be bold for a minute?
A person cannot walk the aisle of a church, shake the preacher’s hand, get baptized, and never attend church for 30 years and honestly think they are saved. They are an apostate and church rolls are full of them.
Do not take my word for it. Read what Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude say about it.
1 John 2: 19
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
2 Peter 2: 19 – 22
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
Why do so many people on church rolls return to their former way of living? Because they were exposed to the truth but denied it, turned their back on it, and like the dog they returned to their own vomit and like a freshly washed pig, they returned to the mire. We do not need to make excuses for people on church rolls that never darken the door, that never read the Bible, that never study, that never share the Gospel. We need to pray they get saved.
The warning is real. The true believer is sanctified, set apart for God being made like God. If someone habitually sins, are they being made like God? NO!!!! That person has not ever truly accepted Christ as Savior, and the last thing we, as true believers, need to say is something like nobody is perfect or everyone sins because to a sinner lost and headed to hell what they hear is us offering them an excuse. If you sin so much that you have to say something like that, you might need to examine your salvation.
A true believer is sanctified. I am a sinner. We all are sinners, but as true believers, when we sin, we know it because the Holy Spirit convicts us of it because we are sanctified. The apostate is not convicted because he or she is not sanctified.
2. We are secured.
Verse 1 says we are preserved in Christ. In 25 verses of this letter, Jude uses the word preserved 5 times. Jude probably had Judas in mind.
Can I explain?
Judas was not only one of the chosen apostles but also an apostate.
John 6: 70
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
We know the story. Judas sold the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver, betrayed Him with a kiss, died by suicide, and is awaiting final judgment today, but Jesus made every attempt to warn and win Judas. Jesus told Judas to his face that he was a devil. Jesus warned him repeatedly that He knew he was the one that was going to betray Him. Even when Judas came with the mob to Gethsemane, Jesus made one last attempt to reach him by calling him friend.
Matthew 26: 50
50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands-on Jesus and took Him.
Jesus gave him one last chance, but Judas crossed the deadline at that very moment. Judas is the classic example of a man was chosen but not preserved or kept.
Look at John 17: 12.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
The first kept means to watch over, take care of, keep an eye on, etc. That is how the Lord takes care of us. The second kept means to be sleepless, to watch, to guard, to defend. The Lord would have done much for Judas, but Judas took himself out of the Lord’s care. Judas, instead of becoming the chief of all apostles, became the chief of all apostates. Judas rejected the watchful eye of the Lord.
Look at verse 12 again. The word Jesus used that is translated lost is used 6 times in John’s gospel. It means the doom of the apostate/sinner. It is the strongest word in the Greek language to express final and irrevocable destruction. Judas, the apostate, crossed the deadline, and his judgment is preserved, but those of us who are truly saved are being watched in all things that concern us by the Lord because we are preserved in Christ. We are secure. Just as Judas is preserved for judgment, we, who are truly saved, are preserved in Christ, and He is watching over us, taking care of us, and interceding for us to the Father. Being preserved in Christ, and I will try not to get excited, is one of the great theological concepts of the New Testament.
Romans 8: 1
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8: 38 – 39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Being preserved in Christ is so important to us. As long as Jesus is the Son of God, I am preserved in Christ and can never be lost again, but if you are lost and cross that deadline like Judas, you will be forever, as long as Christ is the Son of God, preserved for judgment.
3. We are selected
We are called. The Bible has a great deal to say about our call and our calling. God’s call is for everyone; it is universal. God has called or chosen everyone.
Acts 17: 30
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
The call to repent is for all men.
John 3 : 16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The universal call becomes an individual call when the Gospel is brought to us. It becomes a personal call when we accept it. Look what Paul said:
2 Timothy 1: 9
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
Jude wants us to understand what it means to be called as a safeguard against apostasy because there is no salvation without that personal calling.
II. THE INVALUABLE POSSESSION
Jude 2
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Can I say ouch? Can I say this is going to sting a little bit? Jude mentions mercy, peace, and love. Mercy is the upward look. Peace is the inward look, and love is the outward look. OUCH WARNING!!!! Jude knew as Peter wrote that judgment must begin at the house of God.
1 Peter 4: 17
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
The time had come for the apostates in the church to be confronted. Jude’s brief epistle is actually a declaration of war. This was to be a struggle of truth against error, so Jude appealed to mercy, peace, and love in dealing with the apostates. Casualties would occur in the battle against apostasy. Not everyone who sided with the apostate were apostates themselves. Some had been genuinely deceived. Apostates can be very persuasive. Knowing that, Jude invoked a multiplication of mercy, peace, and love upon the embattled church. We can never have too much mercy, peace, and love. AMEN!!!
It is important to say this. God does not condemn sin in the sinner and then condone it in the saint, and that is a big mistake a lot of Christians make. OUCH WARNING!!!!
We have to be careful there. We have “pet” sins we like to condemn, sins that we deem to be worse than others. For example, homosexuality, abortion, drunkenness, and drug addiction, but the Bible does not teach that. None of those sins are the unpardonable sin, right?
The Bible says this:
Romans 6: 23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
James 4: 17 (TRUE BELIEVERS)
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Jesus said this:
Matthew 7: 1 – 5
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Jesus, James, and Paul are saying that sin is sin. Christian friend, since we know what good is, when we do not do it, we have sinned.
Can I give a modern twist on what Jesus is saying? MAJOR OUCH WARNING!!!!
Don’t condemn the homosexual when you are not willing to forgive your brother.
Don’t condemn abortion when you are not willing to reach out to share the Gospel.
Don’t talk about the drunk when you forsake church attendance.
Don’t condemn someone down on his or her luck when you will not tithe.
We do not pray, and we know we should. We do not study God’s Word, and we know we should, and because we know we are to do those things and do not do them, to us, it is a sin.
Praise God for mercy!
Jude confronts apostasy head-on, and I am here to tell you there are apostates in every church across this land and the world. In two short verses, we see the power packed into this little letter. Jude, the bondservant of Christ, says true believers are preserved in Christ, and he urges true believers to address the apostate with love, mercy, and peace.
Are you an apostate?
Only you know if you have truly accepted Christ as your Savior. I do not want you to be preserved like Judas. If you are being convicted by the Holy Spirit at this moment, it means that you have not crossed God’s deadline, and you can still get saved. Will you take care of that?
Pride will get in the way of the first step, but Jesus will bring you home.