Friday Faithfuls 2: Jude

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi    

A spur of the moment decision to take a trip last weekend postponed the next-to-last post in the series...or maybe I'm dragging my feet a bit because I haven't decided what to do next? 

Jude is another Epistle that's measured in verses, not chapters. It's a general Epistle...written to the church at large, rather than a specific body or individual, although I'm sure that Jude had a specific audience in mind as he was writing.

It's a scorcher, y'all.  There were already folks in the 1st century who were perverting the Gospel to suit their own agendas, and Jude is...not having it.  According to church tradition, he was actually one of the younger siblings of Jesus, along with James, so he was an eye witness to everything that happened and would know heresy when he heard it.  He spends almost half of his letter (12 out of 25 verses) describing those he introduces in verse 4.

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 

Let's look at the actions these godless men, who have infiltrated the church, are taking:

1) They change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.

My friends, grace was never meant to allow us to continue in what God forbids.  And that's everything from sexual immorality to taking offense if someone unwittingly trips a trigger or carrying a grudge for a past hurt.  We are responsible for our behavior, and attempting to excuse such things because God's grace extends to us is a complete misunderstanding of what grace is.  Grace is there to enable us to do what we couldn't do otherwise...not wallow in behaviors that are not suitable for a follower of Jesus.  Grace is to help us overcome, not to excuse indulgence. God's grace is available to EVERYONE who will come, but it's there to help the individual change, not to enable immoral lifestyles.

2) They deny Jesus as the ONLY Sovereign and Lord.

Even then, there were those who were throwing shade on the claims of Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life  and the only way to the Father.  If this were a litmus test today for someone who teaches the Gospel...how many  teachers/ leaders/ preachers would fail?  This is typically not an issue in countries where followers of Jesus are persecuted, but in societies where being active in a church that presents as Christian won't cost someone a job or a home or his/her freedom or even life...there is an issue with the teaching that the ONLY way to God is through faith in Christ.  It's an extension of the first error...if God's grace is there to cover human misbehavior, then of course He will not exclude anyone just because they, for whatever reason, didn't follow the teachings of Jesus.  Now, I don't claim to understand how God looks at hearts, but the truth is...He knows who is truly following his son and who is not.  And folks who are counting on church activities to make them right with God are actually denying Jesus...because it's following Jesus, not being active in an organization that calls itself a church, that makes one acceptable.  He is, truly, the ONLY Sovereign and Lord.

Don't let 'certain men' convince you of anything else.