Warnings of Jude
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"Jude 1:3-7 says, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.[4] For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.[5] I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.[6] And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.[7] Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.:
Jude wrote a very short letter to Christians, yet it is a very necessary letter too. There is a sense of urgency in his words and concern for souls. Jude is writing to encourage the Christians to be more than just Christian in name, but rather to stand for “The Faith” that they had been taught. There is more to Christianity than just wearing a Christian name. There is more to Christianity than just doing what is good most of the time. Jude describes the men who had crept in unawares and turned them away from Christ (Jude 4). It is fully possible for ungodly people to creep in among Christians and to lead them astray in the name of Christ.
Jude went on and gave them a few examples. The first example was the children of Israel. God delivered them out of Egypt and they were the children of God. Yet when they came to the promised land they lost faith and would not take it as God had commanded. So now their short journey from Egypt to Canaan turned into a 40 year wandering in the wilderness. God forced them to wander until everyone over 20 had died. There was not a single person over 20 years old that left Egypt and entered the promised land except Joshua and Caleb. When we as people of God lose faith in God’s plan and promises, we have failed just as Israel.
The second example is the angels which did not keep their first estate. They were spiritual messengers, yet when they did not keep their first estate (righteousness), they left God and are now reserved to punishment.
The third example is Sodom and Gomorrah. They had given themselves over to sin and are still known for the sin that they were proud of. Homosexuality, Promiscuity, and every form of sexual sin known to man was popular in Sodom and Gomorrah. So, like the children of Israel, and the angels, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as well.
Now, these three examples are used for a reason. As Christians, we expect people that live like Sodom and Gomorrah to be judged and punished. After all, they have lived openly in sin and have no concern for right and wrong. We even would expect angels or messengers of God who left the faith to be punished. When spiritual leaders turn away from truth they have left God. Yet the other example was Israel. The people of God who simply didn’t have enough faith to conquer the promised land. As Christians we are the people of God. We are in a very similar position as Israel in that God has promised us heaven. All it takes is an obedient faith to enter into that promised land. Yet many will fail to enter in because of a lack of trust in God and His word. This is the reason that Jude encouraged them to “earnestly contend for the faith”. If we fail to stand for the truth in God’s word, then we will receive the same judgement as the children of Israel, the ungodly angels, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
