Do you have new life?

 Next, Jude puts into context the problem with what the false teachers are promoting. Jude connects with the hearers of his words by recalling what has occurred through history with those who do not fully follow God. Jude demonstrates that the reality is much more than an individual person or sin, but has historical, spiritual and eternal significance;

*5*Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. *6*And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— *7*just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 

Jude 5–7.

Firstly, Jude calls to remembrance the fact that Jesus has always existed. We know that the physical incarnation of Jesus was not around when the Israelites escaped Egypt, but he was with his Father in heaven. He was seated with God when it all occurred and had a hand in their deliverance, and the destruction of those who did not believe. The generation that left Egypt were not the ones that entered the promised land (apart from 2) because they were not obedient and did not trust God in what He said He could do. Jude is drawing this parallel to the situation that the current believers are facing. Believers in Jesus have left their ‘Egypt’ - symbolically their old lives and slavery to sin - so why try to carry it into the future? 

Sin and sensuality cannot be permitted. This is what Jude is reminding his readers here. Once you have faith in God and understood who Jesus is, you cannot keep looking back or carrying habits/sins of the past because they are not part of your new life. The persons that follows Jesus is the person has left Egypt, and is now on the way to the promised land. Remember, only those who walked with genuine dedication and obedience to God (Joshua and Caleb) saw the fulfilment of God's promise. Just as the Israelites had to learn all those years ago, so the readers of this letter also need to learn; sin is not accepted in the kingdom of God, and it is not acceptable to live with it in our lives. Jude makes it clear that some ‘believers’ were destroyed before they could enter the promised land because of their lack of understanding of who God really is and who they were as a result. The same is true for us. You and I can be cut off from the people of God if we do not deal with the things that hold us back. If we are not serious about aligning our body, heart and minds to God's design, then we too will not enter into the promises God has for us. 

If you are still not convinced, then consider what Jude says about the angels - if heavenly beings cannot escape condemnation and judgement, how can we? It is important that we as humans recognise our, ‘own position of authority’ just as the angels needs to. We do have authority, but this position has limitations and boundaries just like the angels. God has made clear the expectations He desires us to live by, not because He is a tyrant or dictator, but because He is a loving Father and knows what is best for us. Being fooled into believing that living a life that enjoys and endorses sin and sensuality is ok is living outside of God’s will, and will do you harm. God wants to save you from that, this is why Jude is writing explaining about the reality of what will happen if those who have got it wrong do not change their ways. Just as the disobedient angels were removed from God's presence, and the original Israelites did not enter into the promised land, so all sin needs to be eradicated. The good news for us is that is why Jesus died. Jesus died because he took on all the sin of the world; past, present and future, so that we can be free from the power of sin, guilt and shame and have a relationship with God and a hope for the promises of God fulfilled in our lives. 

There follows a third example, just in case the message of abandoning God’s will, not trusting and dedicating your life to Him was not enough with the examples of the Israelites in Egypt and the fallen angels, we are now reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two towns renowned for deplorable activities, for immorality, ‘unnatural desire’, these towns seem to epitomise sin in how they are portrayed. The lesson we can learn from these towns is that people who wantonly permit and promote sin are destined for destruction. Throughout the Bible it is clear that sin requires dealing with severely. It requires death. That is why in the Old Testament people made sacrifices to atone for their wrongdoings. Sin is such a big issue because it destroys our relationships. It severs the relationship we have with God and damages the relationships with those around us, let alone the relationship we have with ourselves. Sin is serious. It effects how we feel, how we see things, how we behave and how we relate to others and God, as well as our own sense of self-worth. Thankfully, Jesus has dealt with all sin. He has taken the punishment, the death required for every wrongdoing ever. Jesus has made it possible for us to be restored to God and others and even given us a chance for a new life ourselves. 

Have you embraced this new life? 

It is never too late to do so. Maybe today is a chance for you to put things right with you and God, you and others, and even you and yourself. You have the opportunity to be free from the guilt and shame of sin, to escape destruction and enter the promised land. Are you going to take it?

Spotting false teachers

 Jude has a loving, accepting and generous heart to these ‘beloved’ ones to whom he writes. They are beloved of God and of himself. They are affectionately known and attached to Jude, and from the first two verses we can see that he wishes them well. He wants the best for them, he wants them to know greater peace, mercy and love. Therefore he is writing to them as he has clearly had some news that has concerned him about their understanding and behaviour. So it is through love that he writes;

*3*Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. *4*For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Jude v 3–4.

As Jude anticipated writing this letter, he really was excited about doing so because he knows the faith they have and share and it is exciting to communicate with those on the same page. Yet he clearly has been made aware of some concerns, and like someone who loves dearly, he now recognises that he needs to write in a different way - to instruct and warn, so that these people can get back on track. He loves these people and so does not want them to go astray, but wants them to be aware and prepared for danger. It is the same for us - we want to instruct, guide and warm our loved ones about the way they are going. For example, think of teaching a child to cross the road; you do not leave them to find out the danger themselves, but you see it, teach them how to keep safe and warn them of the dangers. Taking time to clearly explain and show what can happen and how to avoid harm. This is how Jude is writing to these people, from the perspective of a loving parent trying to guide these people in their faith. 

Jude sees that these beloved ones are in danger of tarnishing the faith they have by being swayed by unhelpful teaching. So he is writing to show them how to handle this. In these two verses he is showing that not all teaching is equal, that there are those that will turn others away from Christ, therefore we need to be aware of that and ready to respond - just like a child learning to cross the road - you need to stop, look and listen, and then decide how to react. Jude is showing that we should not accept everything we see, hear or read, but we need to learn to stop - reflect on the message being delivered, look - check to see if it lines up with other scripture and listen - to the Holy Spirit and to what people are teaching to check if they edifying Christ as Master and Lord or something else.

The people that are coming in and instructing this set of people, are what people now commonly term, “false teachers”. These are people claiming to be, and probably believing they are fellow followers of God. Yet they are not elevating Christ but other things. Somewhere along the way they have not fully believed that Christ is Lord, and they are convincing others to live as they do. Therefore we need to be on guard that the messages we are hearing, seeing and reading are glorifying of God not anything else. It may be that the concepts seem thought-provoking, insightful, persuasive, and inviting, but it doesn't necessarily them true. 

So what was happening? These false teachers were coming amongst the people of God and telling them about how they could believe in God, but also enjoy the pleasures of the world/flesh. They were not focussing on the fact that Christ has been crucified for every sin and therefore you do not need to be beholden to it anymore, rather they were modelling a life where sin was acceptable because Jesus died to take it away therefore it does not matter. They were focussing on things that distract from Jesus, not keeping the main thing the main thing. 

The reality is, it is sometimes nice to hear some of the things these people say, and we can want their theories and explanations to be true. The things they can tell us sound easy, inviting, like something we want or hope for. They appeal to our human desires. I think that in this day and age, we are more likely to be led astray. We are more likely to be exposed to and accepting of wayward instruction as we have even more influencers, ideas, teaching and theories accessible to us. The plethora of viewpoints and popular, interesting teaching that we can read, listen to and watch is huge through a wide range of media. So, we too really need to listen and take onboard what Jude is saying lest we become persuaded by those who are leading away from Christ. 

Jude can help you and I consider whether anything that we are accessing really does align with who Jesus is and what the Bible says. We  all need to learn to discern what is good and right to listen to, watch and read before we just take it onboard. Just because the person speaking says they are a christian, or what they say is popular does not always mean that we should follow them. Not all teaching is beneficial or uplifts Jesus. Make sure you know how to tell the difference between the genuine and the fake. This is what Jude is warning about. Be aware of what you are taking onboard. You have permission to (and there is an expectation that you) weigh what you are being taught. Jude was brave enough to counter this false teaching, he did not contend with the teachers themselves in these letters, but he equipped God’s people in how to respond to them and showing them how to spot them. Therefore ensure that you are equipped and that you are equipping others to follow Christ only. So how do you know if someone is genuinely leading to Christ or not?Jude shows us in v3-4 the main indicators for false teachers; 

1) If they are; teaching ‘sensuality’ and perverting the ‘grace of God’. In other words if they are teaching that; dong what your body wants is ok. Or if you ‘feel’ like doing something then go for it. You should be satisfied because God wants you to be happy - He says He will give you the desires of your heart, so go for it. Jesus died so that you don’t need to carry the weight of sin - you are forgiven, so it doesn’t matter if you’re giving into the desire of your heart or flesh, in fact it is permissible - These would all be the kind of things that false teachers may say. They may even back it up with scripture (out of context), but nowhere in the Bible does it teach that this is right. In fact, there is a lot of teaching about getting your desires in line, and there are multiple examples in scripture about people getting it wrong - learn from their mistakes, you don’t need to make your own. Your body, your emotions, your desires should not be your ‘Master and Lord’. Jesus should be.

2) False teachers also ‘deny’ Jesus as ‘Master and Lord’. Like hinted to in the first point, it is about who is in charge. Do those you are influenced by extol Jesus or do they deny the power, significance and salvation of Jesus? It may not be the main message of what they say, but if attention is drawn away from Jesus and onto something else, then be careful. Focus can be put onto many other things such as; people, angels, wealth, the body, Holy Spirit, sin, freedom. As you come across different teaching, ask yourself whether the main focus is Jesus. Are they majoring or minoring on him? If he is not the main focus, then do not allow that teaching to majorly impact your life as you will start to drift away from him and after other things. 

The message from these verses is that we should fight for the integrity of what we believe, and learn to evaluate what we are taught. Watch out for what you are taking onboard and ensure that you yourself are following Jesus as your only Master and Lord. Guard yourself from sensuality and from those who make less of Jesus, instead ‘contend for the faith’ - fight for it - knowing the importance of what you have and who Jesus is. The faith we contend for is the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and he came and lived as a sin-free man before being condemned to die on the cross so that he could take the full weight of every sin and restore you and I to God the Father. There is nothing more you or I can do or believe than that. All of scripture leads to and through this fact. Do not let anyone else distract you with; superior knowledge, angelic dreams, power, influence, money, persuasive arguments. When you listen and learn from others, always consider who/what are they pointing at? Are they making much of anything or anyone else other than Jesus? If so, then as Jude tells us to contend for the faith we have. 

Mercy, Peace, Love

 *1*Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, 

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 

*2*May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 

Jude 1–2.

Leading on from last week, we are going to consider v2 in light of the introductory verse. If you are someone who realises they have been invited into loving relationship with Father God because of Jesus, and set apart for him, sealed with the Holy Spirit, then Jude speaks this blessing upon you, ‘May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.‘

I think this is interesting, as how do we recognise and increase in mercy, peace and love? Maybe this invites us to regularly ponder upon the significance and greatness of all Jesus has achieved through his life, death, resurrection and ascension throughout our life. Magnifying our appreciation and understanding of what God has done and seeing how it applies in our life. As well as being those that do not keep this mercy, peace and love for ourselves, but are those that extend these to others though they too may not deserve it.

Do you recognise that increasing mercy is available to you? Mercy means being forgiven though you don’t deserve it and not receiving the punishment sin deserves. Jesus’ death provides us with this great mercy, Are you aware of and grateful for forgiveness and freedom from every wrong thing you have ever done? Do you consider the torture and pain involved in Jesus giving you mercy? He took indescribable pain upon himself to free you from sin so that you can escape; judgement,  punishment, fear and the shame. Are you increasingly appreciative of this mercy? And are you increasingly merciful to those around you? Do you forgive and release others from their wrongs towards yourself as Jesus has done for you? You can multiply mercy in your life by appreciating it for yourself and by being a person of mercy to others as Jesus was. This is hard to do when we are hurt and offended, but it is not impossible. The Holy Spirit can help us, and we can help ourselves by considering who Jesus is and what he has already done. 

Everyone around the world seeks peace, peace between countries, peace in their households, peace in their own hearts. Yet do they experience it? Peace is; the freedom from anguish or disturbance, tranquility, a state of not being at war. 

Would we even know what to do with ourselves if we were truly at peace? There would be no cause for grumbling or discontent would there? Verse 2 shows that we can experience increasing peace as we develop our understanding of who we are in God. It is through that connection that we can experience freedom from anxiety, freedom from fear, and freedom from turmoil. The more that we recognise that Jesus truly is the Lord and Master, the more we can experience peace. So if you want to multiply peace in your life, get to know God better. Invest in relationship with Him and outwork your faith by being a person of peace to those around you. 

Lastly, love; intense affection, deep connection, taking pleasure and interest in due to an emotional attachment. This is how God responds to us, and He wants you to know that in deeper measure. He is firmly attached to you, He has great affection and delight in you. His love for you is never-ending and has no boundaries. It cannot be lost. Do not doubt it. God has tried, since the creation of the world to show you His love  - do you see it? All of the Bible is about God trying to show His love to people like you and I. He has poured out love for thousands of years and He hasn't stopped. He sent his son as a sacrifice to win back your love. Does He have it? Are you increasingly grateful, content and accepting of the love of God? Jude invites you to multiply love in your life. This means firstly acknowledging that God does indeed love you. That can be a huge stumbling block for some, and it took me years to acknowledge that God does much more than merely tolerate me. Yet, how can we deny it when there are verses such as;

 nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God’ Romans 8:39

‘the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge’ Ephesians 3:19,

‘Lord, how precious is your unfailing love, O God’ Psalm 36:6

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us HIs children!’ 1 John 3:1

Mulling on verses such as these can help you to see in greater measure how much God loves you. Once you really realise that, then you are able to multiply the love you have and can to express to others in your life, ‘We love because he (God) first loved us’ (1 John 4:19).

So, as you go through this week and the rest of your life;

‘May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.’

Called, Beloved, Kept

 

*1*Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, 

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 

*2*May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 

Jude 1–2.

In these opening verses of the letter of Jude, like any other letter, we can see to whom this letter is intended. Except that it is not to a particular address, city, town or group of people. It is, ‘To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ’. So, whoever is called, beloved of God and kept for Jesus are those to whom this letter is written - are you one of the intended recipients? What does it mean to be called, beloved and kept? 

‘To those who are called’. 

This implies those that have been selected, chosen and invited. Although those who have been invited may not come, so this is for those who have listened to the call of God and responded to follow. Those who have heard, accepted and are now living life showing who they are and who they are serving. God has called, have you heard his invite and accepted and followed or turned your back and walked away? God will continue to invite you to realise you are His beloved, even if you haven’t followed Him yet.

‘Beloved in God the Father’

Beloved = greatly loved, held in much affection, valued, prized, held dear. This is how Father God feels about you. If you are alive today, even if you do not realise it, or fully understand it - this is how God responds to you; You are His beloved. Held dear, highly valued and prized by God. Why not take a moment just to consider that.

‘Kept for Jesus Christ’

Not only have you been called and greatly loved, but you are also preserved, set apart and saved for Jesus. No matter what life throws at you, you are being protected and ‘kept’ for Jesus. God knows that His love and favour for us, and our responding ‘yes’ to His call will mean things will come against us, that’s why we have this assurance that we are ‘kept’ for Christ. Can you keep holding on through life’s struggles by accepting your call and knowing the deep, affectionate love of the Father? If you do, you will be part of the prize Jesus receives - you are being preserved and saved for him.