Jude 1
1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by[a] Jesus Christ:
2Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
The sin and doom of Godless men
3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[c] delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.
11Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
12These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 16These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
A call to persevere
17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Doxology
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Footnotes:
a. Jude 1:1 Or for; or in
b. Jude 1:4 Or men who were marked out for condemnation
c. Jude 1:5 Some early manuscripts Jesus
3 comments:
the chapter is really about black and white, right and wrong, with God or against Him. Naturally, as i read, i think I am with Him...I am in the group that is being encouraged to persevere. And while there is truth to this, i also have to look in the mirror and admit that i am also, at times, in the other group. I am selfish, i am boasting, i am impatient, i am hurtful, etc. When i think about that, i get such mixed feelings. i wish i could describe them in words. it's feelings of guilt, feelings of embarrassment, feelings of being a traitor, feelings of being all talk and no action, and so on.
verse 10 hit me...i feel like i see this all the time...when people dont understand something, they atack it. i havent read the Da Vinci Code, but from what i hear, it makes me think of this book.
10Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.
Father...at times i can be som strong and such a proponent for you. But at times, i am a traitor. i dont deny you verbally, but my actions do and i know my actions have bubbled up from inside of me. I want my core to be about you, to be about Love, so that my actions reflect love the way you want me to. God, help me and all of us in this way.
Jude 1
timmcd, i can not agree more. What's more disturbing for me is the times I fell myself going down that road and don not stop. Guilt-o-plenty for sure. You are certainly not alone in that. Even simply with the words coming out of my mouth, I can feel my self starting to say something I should not and go ahead. Father thank You for your continued patience.
Verse 10 also hit me, here is the NLT
…Like animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and they bring about their own destruction.
I had a slightly different take as well. It was about learning self control and denying oneself things or pleasures as an outward profession of my faith to God. Not always so easy for me. I like stuff and doing things for myself. Using rationale like I deserve it or “I need it”.
Father, timmcd stated it so well. Make everything about me be about You. I pray the same for these guys and that we all can raise our level of commitment to you.
In Christ,
cas
Jude 1
I'm with both of you guys, so many times I can see myself in slow motion like a movie, where I'm watching, and it's "don't go in there", "don't say that", "you probably shouldn't be doing this", and yet I still do. Two things get me every time: 1) the severity and frequency of these transgressions has decreased many many many times over. and 2) A sin is still a sin, so I've got a long way to go.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
One of the great mysteries: which one when. I guess only our prayers will help us understand God better.
Father, you have helped us all grow immensely. For me, the desire of reading/posting with the guilt when I don't do it makes me feel older/wiser, regardless if You see it the same way. I'm learning to need You, growing to want You near me. I'm still growing, and learning, but wanting the right things. Thank you for Your love, these men, my amazing children, and the most amazing mother/wife (personal bias :) )
In Jesus name,
Amen
crb
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