Jude 17-25

Scripture Jude 17-25 (ESV)

¹⁷ But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Devotion

            We are called to remember the predictions of the apostles of the Lord. In this closing paragraph, Jude addressed his beloved readers and gave them four instructions to follow if they would stand firm and resist the apostates.¹ The first one being to remember God’s word. Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden the evil one has sought to make us forget God’s word. Before Eve was tempted the tempter got her to doubt God’s words. Cain murdered Abel because he disbelieved the warning that God gave him. “Once we begin to question God’s Word, we are vulnerable to Satan’s other attacks, for only the truth of the Word can protect us from the lies of the devil.^2”

            Next, we are called to remember who gave us the word. The New Testament was written by apostles or those very close to the apostolic band. We can trust their teaching as authentic to what our savoir taught them. These men were with Jesus at all times and listened to his teaching. The Old Testament is also reliable because it was written by men who walked in God’s ways. Whenever we hear someone with a “new” message we are to measure it against what the Bible says to determine if it is a “real” teaching or not.

            Remember what they said to us. The false teachers always seek to get us to listen to lies instead of the truth. We must memorize God’s word so that we know false teaching from true. “The phrase “walking after their own lusts” appears in 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 16 and 18, and it explains why the apostates deny God’s truth: They do not want God to tell them how to live. They want to satisfy their own sinful desires, and the Word of God condemns their selfish way of life^3”.

¹Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Alert (2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude): Beware of the Religious Impostors (The BE Series Commentary) (p. 187). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

²Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Alert (2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude): Beware of the Religious Impostors (The BE Series Commentary) (p. 187). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

³Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Alert (2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude): Beware of the Religious Impostors (The BE Series Commentary) (pp. 188-189). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

           

           Finally, we are to remember why they said it. The false teachers want to divide the church and lead people astray. Our Biblical authors seek to build us up into a unified church that can affect the world in positive ways. Not only do these false teachers seek to divide the church they seek to deceive the church. They do not have the Holy Spirit in them so their teaching. Manmade teaching seeks to make itself look good but Holy Spirit inspired teaching seeks to make Jesus look good.

            The Christian life must be constantly growing if it’s not we are in serious trouble. “The Christian life must never stand still; if it does, it will go backward. A house left to itself falls apart. The apostates are in the business of tearing down, but each Christian must be involved in building up—first, his own spiritual life and then his local assembly.”⁴ How does one build up one’s faith life. By prayer, the word of God and by the Holy Spirit. Jude adds one further consideration to these traditional three. “Keep yourselves in God’s love”. Practicing God’s love in our everyday lives will help us walk according to God’s ways.

            We are to watch out for our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we see a believer beginning to fall into one of these traps mentioned earlier we are to support and have mercy on them.

        The end of Jude is a doxology. It is the most familiar set of verses in the book. And it makes a fitting end to this devotional: ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

⁴Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Alert (2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude): Beware of the Religious Impostors (The BE Series Commentary) (p. 190). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.