Jude 1:1-2
Title: Called, Beloved,
Kept.
Analysis:
Two
verses that have stood out to me in my recent study of the Word of God are
Psalm 119:140, which says, “Your Word is very pure, therefore your servant
loves it.” And Psalm 119:160, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of
your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” These two verses have establish two essential
truths in my mind: 1) God’s word is pure 2) God’s Word is completely true. Upon
these two statements of fact one can know that the Bible alone is sufficient
and relevant for all time and all of life. Something that should not be a
surprise to us then is the fact that God’s word is constantly under attack.
Throughout the history of the world men have tried to destroy and snuff out the
word of God. Satan has never forgotten that God’s Word is completely true and
he has no greater desire than to destroy it. From the beginning Satan opened
his mouth for the first time and called into question God’s words (Gen 3:1) the
second time he spoke he called God a flat out liar (Gen. 3:4)! In no time the Word
of God was maligned and questioned as being true and from that point on the
human race has been corrupted. For us who are saints, it is easy to spot and
see those who hate the truth and seek to destroy it. Evolution is an obvious
attack, so is any false religion such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and others.
These are picked out by our ‘biblical eyes’ and proven to be false. For this
reason Satan has used a more subtle tactic than showing up in his red suit and
pitchfork. Instead he, “…disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Cor.
11:14). The deadliest and most volatile way that Satan destroys the truth is
not coming from those who openly reject and oppose it; Rather Satan’s most
effective agents, his greatest spiritual terrorists are those who secretly
infiltrate the church, passing off as genuine shepherds and leaders. These men
are, in reality, wolves in sheep’s clothing, genuine apostates, deceptive
defectors, men who “…profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him
being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (Tit. 1:16).
They affirm with their lips that they are the Lord’s but by their actions they
indicate that they are enemies of the truth. Such men as these are Demas (2
Tim. 4:10), Nadab and Abihu (Lev.10:1-2), Judas (Matt. 26:14-16), Hymenaeus and
Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20), Simon (Acts 8:9-24) and men who, “…cause dissensions
and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you have learned…for such men are
slaves, not of our Lord Jesus Christ but of their own appetites; and by their
smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
(Rom. 16:17-18). These men although seeming to be true were false and they
became enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18).
These
men (and this should be no surprise to us) were in the church. Jesus warned
about them in Matt. 7:15 calling them ‘ravenous wolves’, Paul warned about them
in Acts 20:29 also calling them, ‘savage wolves’, these men were of a depraved
mind and many would arise and mislead many (Matt. 24:11). As the years passed
Paul cautioned Timothy about these men saying that they would, ‘fall away from
the faith paying attention to…doctrines of demons.’ Peter warned of these
apostates in 2 Peter 3:3-6 calling them ‘mockers will come with their mocking
following after their own lusts’ and John also called them out in 1 John 4:1-3
saying that these men are ‘false prophets’. Jude, the second last book in the
Bible, gives us the message that was predicted: ‘These apostates aren’t coming,
they are here!’
Jude
is a book that is left in the shadows of the New Testament so to speak. It is
after John’s three epistles that communicate much rich theological truth about
the word, the Lord, and love for the saints and it comes just before The
Revelation of Jesus Christ one of the most widely questioned and misunderstood
books in the entire Bible. Moreover, the topic of choice for Jude is not one
that is likely to be preached in churches today. In an age where post-modernism
and relevancy reigns supreme, Jude’s message that there are false teachers,
apostates, and spiritual terrorists in the church is not one that is to be
widely accepted. Jude is condemnatory against these men for he realizes the
danger they pose to completely and utterly destroying the church. Because of
this message men are not likely to preach from a book that would condemn and
judge their own behavior! On the other hand, the message of Jude, to those who
are truly saved, is extremely relevant in this culture. Jude’s message reminds
us that error, even a little error will pervert, corrupt, and ultimately destroy
the church. There is no place for false teaching and no place for compromise.
To fail to heed Jude’s message will spell spiritual disaster and will
compromise the faith which has been handed down to us throughout the
generations.
Jude,
as the title of this book conveys, is the author of this 25 versed letter and
it is believed that he wrote it somewhere from 68-70 A.D. This Jude was not the
apostle Jude (or ‘Judas’) rather he is one of the four half-brothers of the
Lord Jesus (Mark 6:3). This epistle is the fourth shortest in the New Testament
and the last of the general epistles before John’s great Revelation. Jude is
concise and to the point in his teaching and although he does not quote the Old
Testament directly he does allude to it. Perhaps even more interestingly is the
fact that he quotes two secular works of his time, 1 Enoch and The Assumption of
Moses. The fact that he quotes these works does not mean that they were
Biblical or expected to be in the canon, he merely cited them for way of
illustrating his point not unlike many preachers do today.
The
church or people that this letter was intended to go to is not specified and in
a sense the content of the letter is then magnified. Perhaps it was written for
one church perhaps for many, nevertheless the message of apostasy that Jude
conveys is extremely important for the church today and therefore I have chose
to study it. As we will now delve into the text we will look specifically at
only the first two verses today. These verses will be titled, “Called, Beloved,
Kept”. Jude seeks to establish confidence in his readers before he rattles off
on the dangers that face them every day.
“Jude,
a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the
called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:” The first verse
in this letter of Jude to his fellow believers establishes a firm foundation that
they can rest on as he gives them essential truths that will help them fight
against apostates in the church. Before we dive into studying these three
essential truths it would be wise to note several things about the opening line
of the letter. As with letters at the time Jude begins by introducing himself
as the author not waiting till the end as we do. He then goes to describe
himself in a fascinating way. Jude calls Himself a bond-servant of Christ
Jesus. The word ‘bond-servant’ literally means ‘slave’ and this statement would
put Christ above Him as his master. The fascinating part is that Jude was a
brother (albeit half-brother) of the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, he would not
call himself the brother of the Lord but rather the humble slave. Christ’s
death, resurrection, and ascension had obviously transformed his life and put
him in the place of utmost humility. Jude implies that he is one who is
absolutely helpless and submissive to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Although in this position he was grateful, for who are we to be saved by such a
High King as He?
As noted in contrast to being the slave of Christ Jude
tells his audience that he is the brother of James. Unlike James he was not an
apostle, but nevertheless he would have had a position of some prominence for
he was the half-brother of Jesus. Ironically, Jude writes a letter condemning
apostasy while bearing the same name of Judas Iscariot the greatest apostate to
have ever lived.
The
audience of Jude is near to his heart and even more so near to the heart of the
Lord. As he continues, Jude gives a threefold description of those who are
saints in the Lord. “To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and
kept for Jesus Christ:” This description is best explained when broken down,
one title at a time and so we will do that here:
1) Called: Who is Jude specifically referring to
in this passage? The Called. But who are these called. Well it can be generally
understood that those who are the called are Christians or saints of the Lord
and this is true. The word called is an adjective and therefore connotes
action. To be called specifically meant to be called by God through the proclamation
of the gospel and to obtain eternal salvation in Christ. Another way to say it
is, ‘divinely selected or appointed’. The emphasis of the call is upon God, He
is the one who calls, we respond. This call is the special call that invokes a response
from our hearts. It is not just a general call for men to be saved but a
specific call in which He awakens our hearts from sin and death and calls us
into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13). This call rests solely on His
shoulders and it is His work alone (John 6:44). This call is the call that made
us chosen in His before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) to be a people that
are holy and blameless in His sight. What an amazing mercy we have received from
our heavenly Father!
2) Beloved in God the Father: The second word that
Jude uses to describe the Christians is beloved. This phrase is one that
immediately evokes tenderness and love within our hearts for our great God. It
was the love of God that was poured out on us through Christ Jesus our Lord
that saved us (Titus 3:6). And the love that God grants to His children is
everlasting and permanent; no one can snatch them from His hand. This simple
fact of this statement is that God chose to save believers because He loved
them! What a love that God has bestowed upon us! What a love! That we should be
called the children of God is unfathomable to me. That he would snatch me from
the pits of hell and take me on wings of grace, what love the Father has shown
to me so I might one day see His face.
3) Kept for Jesus Christ: Perhaps this truth is
one of the most beloved of the saints. We are not only called and beloved by
God, we are also kept for Christ Jesus. This much loved doctrine is that of
eternal security. As children of God we are completely, totally, and eternally
secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 6:37 the Lord Jesus says, “All that
that the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will
certainly not cast out.” Once you are saved you are always saved, God will not
abandon you, the Holy Spirit will not leave you, and Jesus Christ will not
reject you (Rom. 8). We are sure of this because Jesus has died upon the cross
for our sins and He has not only died He rose from the dead to life again and He
now sits at the right hand of the majesty on high having conquered death and
sin and He is coming back again to take us to be with Him! There is no doubt
that God has kept you in Him for He is God and nothing will cause you to fall
away from His salvation and no one or nothing is strong enough to rip away His
almighty grip on you.
What
then is the result of these three amazing truths that are experienced by the
believer? Well verse 2 says, “May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to
you.” Because these three truths are real; because we are called, beloved, and
kept, we are able to experience the greatest and most immeasurable peace, mercy
and love. Through our salvation we have been shown the mercy of God by His
sovereign election of us. Through our salvation we have ultimate peace with
God, our sins have been washed away, and He remembers them no more. And Through
our salvation we have the love of God given to us. This love is unending, it is
undying, it is eternal and it will never pass away. It is the strongest love,
it is an acting love. This love is not a feeling, God does not feel to love you
one day and then not feel like it the next. God’s love is all-powerful and it
can never be taken away for it is the love of the supreme and absolute
sovereign of the entire universe. What Love the father has bestowed upon us and
what grace that we should be called children of God, and such we are!
Response:
Jude
is a book that I have long since desired to study and now I finally have the
great opportunity to do so. As I have introduced the book I understand the
reason that Jude has begun with such an introduction. He was writing to the
saints, those who were saved in the church of God and he needed to establish
them with a solid foundation in the Lord. As we saw in the introduction, this book
is going to be dealing with apostasy in the church and this issue is so needed
to be made known today. Apostasy is such a common theme in the church because
of the weakness of the gospel and the unwillingness to confront sin in other
believer’s lives. But even where the gospel is boldly preached, religious man
will try to latch himself onto the church. Look at the religious leaders in
Jesus day. These men looked like the most spiritual but in reality they were
not even saved. They were defectors and as we will see with the true apostate
they were in it for the money and personal gain. I pray that we would be warned
against such men as these and take heed to test those in the church and
especially test our own hearts. It is oh so easy to become familiar with the
gospel of God but may it never be this way with us! May I be bold to face the
challenges of our day head on a Jude did and to call sin: sin, apostasy:
apostasy, and to strip away all false teaching so that all that is left is the Word
of God. God’s Word alone is sufficient for the church and no man or his
teaching should be allowed to overcome it. As we read in Psalm 119; God’s word
is truth, and it is very pure, therefore may I, as a servant of God love
it.
Blessings,
Lucas C.
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