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A Study on the Warnings of Jude
Jude
Verses 1-2
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: 2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Who is this Jude? Jude, Judas, or Judah, as he has been called, states that he is a servant of Jesus Christ. He also states that he is the brother of James (the Just) and the brother of Jesus.
Matthew 13:53-58
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
In Matthew 13:55, the brothers of Jesus are named; they are James, Joses, Simon, and Judas.
Mark 6:1-6
1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
Here in Mark 6:3, again the brothers of Jesus are named, and they are James, Joses, Juda, and Simon. The scriptures also state that Jesus had sisters. Their names are not given, nor the number of them, but by simple deduction we know that there were at the least two, because scripture states sisters. So, Jude was the brother of Jesus, our Lord.
In this epistle Jude doesn’t claim importance as being the brother to Jesus, but with humbleness in his heart, his only claim is that he is the servant of Jesus Christ. I can understand the feeling that he must have had that he was not worthy to be called the brother of Jesus, and that his only desire was, “Just let me be your servant, Lord.”
I believe as Jude was beginning to write this epistle, his mind went back to the days of his youth; the days also when Jesus began his ministry; the day when he and his brothers and sisters refused to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Jesus even spoke of it in Mark.
Mark 6:4
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Here Jesus admits that his family refused to believe in Him. They refused to accept Jesus because they, like all Israel, were looking for a great warrior king, a king who would come and once again make Israel a great nation. That wasn’t the will of God for that time, though it will come in the future when Jesus returns. When did Jude repent and receive salvation? When did Jude accept Jesus as the promised Lord and Savior, the Messiah? We don’t know.
The scripture does record that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection. (I Corinthians 15:5-7) So it was shortly after this event, because the scripture tells us so. As we study the scripture, we find that Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers were among the one hundred and twenty praying in the upper room when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:13-14
13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Jude does claim to be the brother of James. Some think this was to give his epistle more authority, since James was the head of the church in Jerusalem. Jude, like many of the other apostles, worked in the background, where Paul, Peter, and others worked in the foreground. Jude did not seek self-glory, but only to please the Lord. For Jesus, himself, tells us that “he that heareth his word and doeth it, is as his brother, and sister, and mother.”
Matthew 12:47-50
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
We can have no greater witness than to have it said about us that we were humble servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude directs this epistle: “to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:”
Who are the called? The scripture states that many are called but few are chosen.
Matthew 20:16
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Who are the chosen? The chosen are all those who repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should have everlasting life. You say, “What’s the catch?” There is no catch; the only requirement is that you, of your own free will, repent and accept Jesus as your Savior. God will not make us do anything against our will; if we make heaven our home, it’s because we chose to serve the Lord. If we make hell our home, it’s solely because we chose to do so. God sends no one to hell; we send ourselves there, because of our own choices, actions, and desires.
I know that there are those who contend that we don’t have a choice, but they are wrong. We are not put upon this earth with no choice as to our final outcome. Every one of us has the same opportunity; what we make of it is up to our own discretion. The Word tells that many are called, many are bid to the marriage. It is not God’s will that any should perish, but that all should be saved. It’s up to us; God will not make a man serve Him. If God forced us to serve, there would be no love. In the past some men and women were made slaves. Did they like their lives? Did they want to be slaves? The answer is no. They desired to be free to make their own decisions, to be their own person. God gives us this opportunity, the opportunity to decide, but we will also reap the rewards of those decisions, be it good or be it bad.
Matthew 22:9
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Romans 10:9-13
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1 Timothy 2:4
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Revelation 22:16-17
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The summons (or call, or invitation) is given; what is your answer? I have heard all manner of reasons why people will not go to church and serve the Lord. The one used most is that the church is full of hypocrites, and I concede that this is true. But there is a judgment day coming very soon. So, until that day comes, the wheat and the tares must grow together; just know that the harvest is near.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
The rapture of the saints is coming soon, but what of those who are left? There are those who will propose to live for God regardless of the cost they must pay, and there will be some. After the rapture has taken place, the only way for them to enter heaven is to purpose to give their lives for the sake of God’s kingdom. At the great white throne judgment there will be the final separating. The tares or sinners will be cast into the fire.
The biggest problem with the churches today is that the door to the world has been opened wide and the devil has walked right on in. The world is dictating what the morals and standards of the church are to be. When you make sinners feel comfortable in the church and there is no condemnation, there is no preaching of the true Word of God. The church has failed. Let’s be truthful, the church has backslidden in favor of man’s praise. The church is used to ease the conscience of ungodly men.
James 3:14-16
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jude, in this epistle, as we shall see, is giving a warning to not give heed to the many voices of the enemy. We are to be established in the Word of God, and not be led astray. James 3:14-16 tells us there should be no bitter envying and strife in our hearts, and that we are not to lie. But preachers and teachers get up and lie to people in every service in most churches today. This is the result of letting the world and governments dictate to the church of the living God what morals and standards are acceptable to them. Whatever happened to letting God set the rules? It’s a shame that people think they know more about what’s morally acceptable than God’s Word. James 3:15-16 states, “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” There’s enough evil in the world without the church being full of bitterness, envy, strife, and confusion, but it’s here in our midst. The only way to get rid of it in our churches is to pray it out. Then preach the truth of God's Word. The truth will set us free.
John 8:23 says: “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” To be sanctified by God is to be set apart from the world by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We are to give ourselves to the service of Christ Jesus and God the Father, laying aside every weight and sin, and living in the presence of God through Jesus Christ. In so doing, we are preserved unto God, and at the end of this life we will enter into the presence of God and into that place that Jesus has prepared for us, as He has promised.
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