HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1517
Jude
W E L I V E I N T I M E S when school children are warned not to make
their religion part of the school system. Case studies abound of young
children who have faced official opposition or discipline for praying at
school, writing a paper about Jesus, or sharing their faith in Jesus with
others. To young children, this is a form of persecution for their faith.
But Christians of all generations have faced some kind of persecution
because they were Christians, followers of Jesus.
Despite the persecution and opposition to
What you will be
Christians, Jude wrote of a greater threat. His
reading about
concern was not for the threats from without,
1:1-16
such as from the Jewish religious leaders or even
The danger of false teachers
the Roman government, but for the threats from
1:17- 25
within. False teachers had infiltrated the church
Our responsibility to fight for
and were teaching corrupt doctrines. They were
God’s truth
looking out for themselves, and to do that, they
were putting down those in authority.
In this letter to the church at large, Jude warns believers to resist false teachers. Their work is false and they are doomed to destruction. They will be judged
as surely as Sodom and Gomorrah were for their immorality (Genesis 19:1-29),
as surely as Cain was judged for murdering his brother (Genesis 4:3-16), as
surely as Balaam was for compromising his role as prophet (Numbers 31:8, 16),
and as surely as Korah was for his rebellion against God’s leaders (Numbers
16:1-35). Christians must hold fast to the truth of God as found in the Holy
Scriptures. They must also exercise prayer and be filled with the power of the
Holy Spirit. When Christians do these things, they will live Christlike lives, and
that will help them resist false doctrine.
Jude’s closing statement is often used today as a doxology in church services.
It points out beautifully that the Lord himself is the one who will keep us from
falling, from becoming victims to false teaching. Realizing that, we must keep
close to him and to his Word, the Holy Bible.
Key verses in Jude
1:3 Dear friends, 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.
1:20-21 But you, dear friends,
must build each other up in
your most holy faith, pray in the
power of the Holy Spirit, and
await the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who will bring you eternal
life. In this way, you will keep
yourselves safe in God’s love.
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