Creator, Father, King #345

They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you.

CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING an earthly sibling of the Lord Jesus Christ? Wow! Think of the stories you’d be able to tell.

This was the experience of Jude, the writer of the New Testament letter named after him. Interestingly, though, Jude didn’t immediately believe in his older brother’s divinity or messianic mission (Mark 3:21). Only later in life did he have faith that the man he grew up with in Mary and Joseph’s household was actually the incarnate Son of God. What a revelation that must have been!

Eventually, Jude became a leader in the early church. By the time he wrote his New Testament letter, false teachers had started infiltrating the church. His letter is a powerful exhortation for believers to stay strong in the faith—advice that we would be wise to heed.

What’s It Mean?

In many ways, today is no different than Jude’s day. The “scoffers” with their “ungodly desires” and false teachings that he described in today’s Scripture passage still abound. We must be careful to “defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people” (Jude 1:3).

How do we do this in the midst of so much devious, often subtle heresy that swirls around us? Jude lists three ways in verses 20-21:

• Build each other up in your most holy faith. We fight false teachers and destructive teaching by staying deeply rooted in a strong biblical church community with other believers (Hebrews 10:23-25).
• Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through prayer, believers can approach the throne of God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16) as “we use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
• Await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. This is a call for perseverance as we anticipate the promised second coming of our Savior. Remaining confident in the hope of Christ’s return and future glory helps us stay true to our earthly mission.

“In this way,” Jude says in verse 21, “you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” Amen!

Now What?

Read the letter of Jude. (The doxology at the end is particularly awesome!)

Did You Know?

Some popular belief systems, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventists, Universalism, and the “prosperity gospel,” add to or subtract from the complete sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work on the cross for our sins. Be aware of such false doctrine.