Jude

Daily Bible Reading – 1 John 4:1 – Jude 25

The writer was the half brother of Christ, called “Judas” in Mark 6:3. The resurrected Christ was seen by James, another half brother (1 Cor. 15:7), so undoubtedly both James and Judas became believers about the same time. Christ’s brethren are mentioned in Acts 1:13–14 as sharing in the prayer meeting before Pentecost. Note that Jude does not boast of his human relationship to Christ. He prefers to call himself a “bond-slave of Jesus Christ” and a brother of James. Though in his letter Jude speaks of judgment, he is careful to point out that the true believer is kept in Christ (vv. 1, 24). We do not keep ourselves saved, but we should keep ourselves in the love of God by obeying His Word (v. 21).

Jude started to write a message on “salvation,” but was led by the Spirit to abandon his theme and warn the believers of the false teachers now in the church. You will note that many verses in Jude parallel 2 Peter 2. Jude was written later, for Peter prophesied that these false teachers would come (2 Peter 2:1; 3:3), and Jude says that they are now here and at work. He reminds us that Peter has already announced their condemnation. He identifies these false teachers as the same people Peter described: they creep in secretly, bring false doctrine, and live in sin. “Turning the grace of God into lasciviousness” (v. 4) means they told people that grace permitted them to live as they pleased. See Rom. 6:1ff.

How are Christians to react to this danger? “Contend earnestly for the faith!” (v. 3) is Jude’s command. We are to defend God’s truth and the body of doctrine the NT calls “the faith.” We are to be soldiers who hold the fort at any cost.