Now, you are probably curious as to why I started out my blog post with a quote from Nietzsche. He is arguably the most well known atheistic philosopher of his time, the man who claimed “God is dead,” and a man who flat out hated every religious person he came into contact with. What could you possibly gain from anything he said? Well, he happens to be an example of the type of person that we are strictly warned against in the Bible. Nietzsche preached the gratification of the desires of the flesh, and then lead people astray by teaching that in gratifying the senses, you were experiencing truth. According to the Bible, Nietzsche could not be any further off, and the only thing he accomplished in his life was leading people further away from the ultimate truth that he denied.
WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM JUDE? OR WHAT EVEN IS JUDE?
Sadly, a book in the Bible that deals with the subject of false teachers tremendously happens to be a book that people commonly skip over, or forget even exists. It is the book just after third John and right before Revelation, it takes up all of about 2 pages in my Bible, and is only one chapter long. Sounds significant right? Actually, the book of Jude, written by the brother of Jesus and James, happens to give us some key insight into how to deal with those who are false believers, and also how true believers need to hold fast to the Lord in fellowship, and persevere until the day of the Lord.
“For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ…Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones…But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they were destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them for they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion…These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” -Jude 4, 8,10-11, 16
What Jude is saying here is that there are people who come into the church, or into contact with believers, and tell them that the way they are living is unnecessary, they can live however they desire. They are the ones who preach that you can ultimately do whatever you want because you have forgiveness from God one prayer away. We were given this earth to live however we please, and then when the time comes; we just use our “get out of jail free” card from God, and ask for forgiveness. Jude dispels this by saying these are people who actually deny Jesus with their entire livelihood, even if they claim to be true believers of His word. These people, who claim to have the logic that is necessary to live a good life, fool believers into following their ways and believing in their truth, not God’s. Jude tells us they are “relying on their own dreams,” meaning they have their own will at heart, and completely ignore the will of God. In relying on their own wills, they reject all authority, and teach believers blasphemy, and live in a state of despair, becoming slaves to sin.
The phrase that gets me is when Jude claims, “they blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they were destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” What he is saying is that there are people within the faith that claim to believe in the truth of Jesus, but in their lifestyles, contradict and diminish everything that they claim they believe in Jesus. Have you ever known those people who say that they truly believe in the word of God, but when you examine their lives, there is no evidence of that anywhere (a place all of us can probably say we’ve been at, or are at). I recently heard a sermon where the pastor asked the question, “If you were to be arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” This question convicted me because that is an extremely scary thought. One day we’ll be before the throne of judgment, and our entire lives will be examined, and we will be judged by how we live on this earth. There will be those who truly lived all out for Christ, and entrust everything in Him. Then, there will be those who, like Nietzsche, were all about gratifying the flesh. These are the people that end up being “destroyed by all they understand instinctively.” These people who throw caution to the wind, just want to “have fun,” and live their lives the way they want to, apart from God. We are warned not only to repent of this lifestyle, but also to encourage those who are in it to come back to the faith they claim to believe in.
Jude is not all negative though, for those who truly believe in Christ, we are given encouragement and guidelines for how to deal with those who live in a manner separate from God.
“ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads us to eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by flesh.”- Jude 20-23
This is our encouragement, to build each other up in prayer and love, praying for the strength and mercy granted to us by God. We are told that in Christ is where we find our true meaning, removing our sinful, human selves (Ephesians 4:22), and clothing ourselves in God’s love and grace. In that, we finally have achieved our purpose in life, and we can dwell in His love forever. God also reveals to us how to deal with those that instinctively pursue the desires of the flesh. He tells us that we need to show mercy on those who do not believe. Have you ever know someone that judges others for not living in a way that they deem acceptable? Your answer should be yes, because we have ALL been there. I know I sure have. What Jude is saying is not to judge them, but have mercy on them. To LOVE them, because without us having Christ’s love revealed to us, we would be in the same position. You are no better than anyone else because we are all sinners, no one will be perfect until they have joined Christ in Heaven. Love everyone around you, no matter if they have the exact same beliefs as you, or if they are polar opposite from whom you are. The message of the Gospel is LOVE, live by that. Encourage one another daily with words that build up, not tear down. With some though, the love will have to be tough, because some who claim to believe will repeatedly revert to their sinful desires, and show no repentance for them. Those are the people that need to be discipled to in a way that is not always easy. No matter what, never cease to love those that God has placed in you life.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”- Jude 24-25
Finally, what Jude claims, is that no matter who we are, what we’ve done, or how we got to where are, all must give everything to Christ. Those who are on the right path, the only reason you are on that path is because you trust in the One who is “able to keep you from stumbling.” The only way we are forgiven of our sins is because we trust in the One who can present us “blameless before the presence of His glory.” Jesus is the only one worthy of praise, worthy of our lives, and worthy of us modeling ourselves after. If you desire anything other than a life lived in accordance with Jesus and His word, your life is just awaiting “eternal chains” (Jude 6). You both truly choose Jesus and His word, and receive eternal joy, or you choose to live life your own way, ignoring the truth, and have eternal damnation awaiting you. Don’t be fooled either, the scariest passage in the bible is Matthew 7: 21-23, where Jesus claims that there are people who will claim to have believed in Him, but he will say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be the one who receives that statement from God. That verse alone makes me want to pursue God with everything I have, but sadly we constantly turn away.
There are people who live for God, those who claim to live for God but don’t, and those who flat out deny God. It doesn’t matter who they are, LOVE them with the love of Christ. Share the true love of Christ with them, and encourage their relationship with Him. Make sure you are persistent in your relationship with Christ, studying and training in His word, and growing with fellow believers. Truly trust that Jesus died for you, accept His grace, and live by Him and his word.
Bet you didn’t think Jude was that useful, huh? I didn't either.
Live intentionally, love mercifully, and give all to the God who gave all for you.
God Bless,
Trip Starkey
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