Tue, Apr 10, 2001 - From the back of the Book

My starting point in the Bible is purely arbitrary. The books making up the tail end of Scripture have always intrigued me, so I decided to start with James and work my way through to Revelation. The sequence is James, 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2 and 3 John; Jude, and Revelation.

I am quoting from The New English Translation, an online "beta test" translation by a group of seminary professors. They are located online at Bible.org. However, the commentary in Dave's Bible Diary is just Dave winging it, perhaps interesting but definitely not authoritative!

INDEX:   James  1 Peter  2 Peter  1 John  2-3 John  Jude  Revelation 1-4  Revelation 5-9
Revelation 10-14  Revelation 15-18

Lent day 10 - Saturday, February 23, 2002 - Jude 1:1-4

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. 1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you!

Condemnation of the False Teachers

1:3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 1:4 For certain men have secretly slipped in among you--men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe--ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude may be short, but for some reason it has generated a flood of translator's notes. I'm not sure why I mention that bit of trivia, because I don't know why.

Jude is a half-brother of Jesus and a full brother of James. It was necessary for Jude to so identify himself because Jude (Judas) was a very common name, and he wanted his readers to know that he was not the infamous Judas of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Then, because he might be misunderstood as trading on his family connection to the Lord Jesus, he calls himself a "slave" of Jesus Christ. In those days, a slave was much more than just a servant. To the Jew, being a slave did not connote the drudgery of servitude but a position of honor and privilege. (Maybe those notes are of some help after all!)

To those who are called. By this I am reminded that I do not believe just because I decided to believe. The initiative was God's, not mine.

John gets to the point quickly. The faith of his readers is under attack by false teachers, and they must hold tight to what they have learned about Jesus Christ. These teachers have somehow turned the grace of God into an evil perversion of the gospel. They blatently deny that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all of creation, while the central fact of our faith is the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension to the place of honor with God. To deny this is to deny the faith.

Okay, what can I take away from this passage. The obvious lesson is that I must be aware of attacks on my faith. Some of these are very subtle, arising from the unwritten presuppositions of the talking heads on the tube and the written assertions of other commentators in the public square. I am learning (I hope) that what sounds reasonable may be at odds with truth. Where do I find the truth? I remember that Jesus called himself the "truth." So my path to truth is the path of focusing my attention on the source of all truth, Jesus Christ. Do those words sound reasonable? Without the gift of faith they surely do not. To me it's a no-brainer, because some time ago I settled within myself that, come what may, I will follow Jesus, wherever he may lead. -sdg-

False teachers (2)

Lent day 11 - Monday, February 25, 2002 - Jude 1:5-7

1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts once for all) that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe. 1:6 You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day. 1:7 So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

What's this? Jesus saving the people out of the land of Egypt? Didn't Jude mean Moses? According to the translator's notes, none of the manuscripts are equivocal on this point. Jude wrote "Jesus." There is a very strong sense in which Jude was right-on. Delivering the chosen people from Egypt was, ultimately, the work of the almighty God. Scripture teaches clearly that Jesus is God and was present with God from the beginning of time. The reference is at least appropriate, if somewhat jarring.

But that isn't Judes main point here. He is simply making sure that his readers remember that God does not tolerate wickedness. Rebellion against God is eventually punished in ways we can only dimly conceive. Jude uses the figure of eternal fire, leaving it to our imaginations (and consciences) to drive the point home.

My lesson from this must wait until Jude completes his argument. In the meantime I can contemplate a perfectly holy God who cannot long tolerate man's rebellion. My rebellion. It makes me glad that I have sneaked a peak at the end of the Book and know how all this turns out. -sdg-

Lent day 12 - Tuesday, February 26, 2002 - Jude 1:8-13

False teachers (3)

1:8 Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones. 1:9 But even when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses' body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" 1:10 But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend. 1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion. 1:12 These men are dangerous reefs at your love-feasts, feasting without reverence, feeding only themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit--twice dead, uprooted; 1:13 wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved.

In these days of tolerance for almost anything, Jude's harsh and judgmental words sound extremely intemperate. He apparently is not talking about any particular person or persons but is generalizing about a type of person that has become too common at gatherings of the church. They are immoral, rebellious against church leadership, and behave in an insulting, probably condescending manner to church members. Following the example of Michael the archangel, Jude doesn't prescribe punishment, knowing that God will deal out appropriate and timely punishment. Jude clearly sees them as men who have given themselves wholly over to sin, and the reason for the rant is that they are misleading weak Christians, disrupting their growth in Christ.

There are a couple of points here for me to ponder. First, because God has put me in a position of influence and leadership in the church, I need Jude's reminder that there is nothing that those "waterless clouds" have done that is beyond my human capability to do. I must lean hard on Jesus Christ to keep me out of mischief in the church.

Second, there comes a time to speak the truth bluntly and risk offending. I live in a pluralistic society that teaches that all religious beliefs are equally valid. We are expected to bend over backwards in order to be tolerant and not offend those who are sincere but wrong. What do I say to those who believe that abortion is a matter of personal choice, when In God's eyes it is clearly murder? Or what do I say to those who want the church to bless same sex "marriages?" My lenten prayer is for God to turn my awkward, semi-apologetic efforts to communicate a clear and biblical position on such issues into a clean, forthright, even winsome proclamation of God's truth. Sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? -sdg-

Lent day 13 - Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - Jude 1:14-16

False Teachers (4)

1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent, beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, 1:15 to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 1:16 These people are grumblers and fault-finders who go wherever their desires lead them, and they give bombastic speeches, enchanting folks for their own gain.

Knowledge of God's judgment against the ungodly has been around for a very long time. It is not a new idea. God's coming judgment was prophesied as early as Enoch, Jude reminds us. He still has false teachers in mind, characterizing them as grumblers, fault-finders, enchanters. Their motive is self-profit.

By now I should be totally convinced that 1) there are false teachers around, trying to take my eyes and mind off of the only source of truth, Jesus Christ., and 2) God has already judged them and they will pay the penalty for their rebellion against God. My reaction is to maintain a certain skepticism about the words of others, especially when they show little respect for the Bible as God's word. When I study the Bible, either in private or in the company of other believers, I believe something that borders on the miraculous often happens. I grow in my faith. I draw closer to the truth of life. When I am puzzled by a Bible passage, I am content to set it temporarily aside, knowing that the Bible does not contradict itself and that understanding is possible. But not for me just yet. -sdg-

Lent day 14 - Thursday, February 28, 2002 - Jude 1:17-25

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends--recall the predictions foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:18 For they said to you, "In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires." 1:19 These people are divisive, worldly, devoid of the Spirit. 1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, 1:21 maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. 1:22 And have mercy on those who waver; 1:23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes soiled by the flesh.

Final Blessing

1:24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 1:25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Jude points back to the apostles, particularly to Peter as his source. He quotes from 2 Peter 3:2-3, which predicts a situation similar to the one in which his readers find themselves. Scoffers will appear before Jesus returns. Jude offers a confident word of hope for every person who listens to Jesus Christ and believes. The hope is for eternal life, in spite of the problems and diversions of the current time.

Jude's benediction to close his letter is almost a mini-sermon. With moving words he glorifies God, attributing to Him the power to keep us from falling and to stand tall in our faith and beyond that all power and authority over his creation, now and forever. Moving words. True and comforting words.

I take a lot of encouragement from these two short paragraphs from Jude. Drawing my strength from the Holy Spirit, I intend to maintain myself in the love of God. I picture Jesus at the right hand of God vouching for me as I dare come to the throne of God, seeking mercy in my times of need. What a comforting and enabling thought! -sdg-

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