Day 342

Hosea 10:1–14:9; Jude 1:1-25; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 29:15-17

TODAY WE READ the twenty-five-verse-long epistle of Jude in its entirety —and it may have sounded a bit familiar. Many scholars accept the idea that 2 Peter imitates Jude’s letter. If this is true, then Jude’s letter predates 2 Peter and thus would be dated to the mid-60s AD. If this is not the case, then the letter could be from as late as the end of Jude’s life —perhaps AD 80.

But that might be getting a little ahead of ourselves. After all, who was Jude?

This question has been raised throughout church history and continues to be examined among scholars to the present. If we move in the direction of consensus, the majority of traditional scholars agree that the Jude who wrote this letter was the brother of James and Jesus. Although a brother, Jude was not an apostle. He didn’t believe in Jesus during His ministry.

It’s not clear who this letter was addressed to. Jude says he’s writing to “all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). This could basically be any believer —ever. Therefore, we can certainly apply this to ourselves. But if the similarities between 2 Peter and Jude are correct, then Jude was likely writing to the same people Peter wrote to —displaced believers who had fled persecution or had been exiled in generations past when the kingdoms fell to Assyria and Babylon.

Jude had planned on writing a completely different letter. He said as much in his greeting:

I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

The issue was a widespread false teaching about God’s grace —one that is addressed many times, in many letters, throughout the New Testament.

Here’s what was going on: The teaching of an unmerited favor bestowed on us by God has always been a core understanding in the Christian faith. As we are taught in Scripture, this is a gift and not something we can earn. It is grace.

Some began to twist this concept into a license to do whatever they pleased, with whomever they chose. After all, sin was no longer held against them, and God’s grace could never be earned anyway.

Jude forcefully opposed this teaching throughout the bulk of the letter, and it’s not as if this kind of behavior isn’t still with us. Jude clearly warns us away from that path.

In closing, Jude instructed the believers to remember that false teachings had been predicted and that the followers of Jesus must build each other up through the power of the Holy Spirit. Their posture toward those who had been deceived was to be cautious but merciful.

This is our final stop before we move into the final book of the Bible, which will move us in new directions. Let’s remember what these letters have told us. The story of radical grace is true! But we are entering into a covenantal relationship in order to access it. It matters what we do, because our actions are the true statement of our love for one another and of our faith in God.

BENEDICTION:

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.