(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus:
How does Jude allude to OT false teachers? What’s the parallel to today?
Intro:
Jude was brother of James and half-brother of Jesus, and this is a really interesting letter. And today I’m going to give you a little background and my question of the day up front so as to set it up. Because it’s an otherwise deeeep book of one little chapter.
The letter is written to an audience that is either Jewish or has a solid knowledge of Jewish literature, both the Hebrew Bible (what we know of as the OT), but even a couple references to non-biblical works called 1 Enoch and Testament of Moses. This doesn’t mean Jude saw these works as the inspired word of God, but it’d be more like us referencing a commentary or something CS Lewis wrote.
What I want to call your attention to is this: Jude starts of by saying he was going to write one thing, but now needs to send a warning about false teachers ”turning the grace of our God into sensuality” (Jud 4). What’s interesting is that…
The heresy Jude addresses resembles that proclaimed by false prophets in the Old Testament… (the were saying that) judgment would not come on God’s people because of his special favor for them—a doctrine that led to sin (Jer 6:14; 8:11; 23:17; Ezek 13:10, 16; Mic 3:5).
Biblical grace means forgiveness and power to overcome sin, not permission to act immorally. Ancient writers often applied the language of battle or athletic contests (“contend”) to spiritual or moral battles.(1)
So, with that as a set up, I’ll see you on the other side.
New covenant:
Passage: Jude
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 23
Words: ~604
One final note about Jude. Remember a few days ago in 2 Timothy when I made a big deal about Paul saying that there would be people with “itchy ears” who just want to hear what they want to hear? And that there would be people who would exploit that for gain? Well, that’s what we’ve got here in Jude, too Let me share with you a few of these repeating the them of false peace: Jer 6:14; 8:11; 23:17; Ezek 13:10, 16; Mic 3:5.
One thing should be abundantly clear: this happened hundreds of years before Jude and Timothy, it was happening at the time of Jude and Timothy, and… …do you think it’s still happening today? Uh, yeah. Duh!
Old covenant:
Passage: 2 Kings 14-15:7
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 36
Words: ~1139
Wisdom:
Passage: Proverbs 11:12-14
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~48
The bottom line:
The question of the day was,”How does Jude allude to OT false teachers?” And the answer was a warning about contemporary false teachers who told people what they wanted to hear. So the question I’ll leave you with is this — have you heard people go soft on sin? Or deny that hell exists? Or say that God wouldn’t really judge a particular sexual lifestyle? Or otherwise, like Jude put it, turn message of God’s grace and forgiveness into sensuality… something that permits people to live with the thoughts they like instead of challenging sin?
Jude’s message is clear — we must persevere in contending for the faith.
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Jud 3–4. <<—BTW, this is a killer book. Not a traditional commentary, but full of enlightening nuggets.