Jude 12-25
But You Be Different
INTRODUCTION: Jude continues to write about the false teachers that come in secretly and act like one of us. He describes them in very specific terms here, to make clear that they are not good people who have made a mistake. They are purposely leading people astray and they do not know God themselves. Then to end the book, he gives instruction to the true Christian people. Basically, he tells us to be different than they are. These are ungodly. You are to be godly in your life and this is how.
- MAKE YOURSELF MORE AND MORE USEFUL IN THE FAITH (VS. 12, 20)
- Here Jude says these false teachers that are pretending to be part of the church a spots on their love feast
- In the early church they would conduct the Lord’s supper in this way
- They would have an actual meal before the Lord’s supper and then take the Lord’s supper at the end
- They referred to the meal before the Lord’s supper as the love feast
- It was a time when the church people came together and ate together, much like we do fellowship now, for the purpose of knowing each other better and being together
- But its connection to the Lord’s supper is what Jude is talking about here.
- The saved, church members that were dedicated to God were supposed to take the supper-Paul even instructed the Corinthian church not to take it unworthily, so they were to confess sin and get right with God before they took it
- These unsaved false pretenders were taking the Lord’s supper with them and Jude called them dirty spots on an otherwise pure and holy thing
- He called them rain clouds without water
- That is good for nothing, without usefulness
- He said they were blown around from here to there-no commitment to God, His teachings, or His church
- He called them dead trees
- The fruit on the tree withered the first year
- And then it did not produce again in the subsequent years
- And then it was worthless, so they pulled it out by its roots
- He calls them raging waves
- Spewing up the foam of their sin
- Destroying everything around them
- He calls them wandering stars
- They go from place to place again, just like the clouds that are blown
- But they don’t shine, in fact they are destined not to shine for all eternity
- They are lost, they are worthless, they hurt everyone around them
- These guys are not accomplishing anything good
- But in v. 20 the real Christians are to be different than that
- They are to be building themselves up in their holy faith
- The Greek word for building up literally means to make it more able
- These Christians are to make their faith more able
- In other words their faith is to become more and more useful as time goes on
- This is different than the useless pretenders
- These Christians are to grow in their faith and become more like Christ
- So that they can help people
- So that they can share the gospel more
- So that they can serve God in and through His church
- You see, real faith is always accompanied by action
- You act because you believer
- That is why James said faith without works is dead
- As you grow in more and more faith
- Your faith will become more and more useful
- And that is where you should be focused
- On building your faith, so that you are able to do more and more for God
- You build your faith by trusting God in each situation and seeing Him come through
- As He comes through every time, you will believe in Him more and more
- And as you believe in Him more and more, you will be able to do more for Him
- Build up your faith and do more for God
- DESIRE WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOUR LIFE (VS. 16A, 17-20)
- Jude talks about these pretenders more in v. 16
- At the beginning of this verse he says they are murmurers and complainers
- They want things their way and their way only
- If it is not their way, then they complain and murmur
- In connection to that, they are walking after their own lusts
- In other words the pretenders do in their life what makes them happy
- They try to get all the things that they want
- They want the pleasure of sin and so they sin
- They want to be seen as somebody special so they build themselves up
- They want money, they do what it takes to get it
- They follow their own desires in every part of their life
- We find out in v. 18 that the things they desire are ungodly things
- In v. 19 they are sensual-which means if it feels good they do it
- And that they do not follow the Holy Spirit-What they want has nothing to do with what God wants
- But in v. 20 we see that Christians are to be different
- After he says that we should making our faith more and more able
- He says that real Christians should be praying in the Holy Spirit
- We pray for the things that we desire from God
- Here Jude says that real Christians pray in the Holy Spirit
- In other words we pray the things that the Holy Spirit of God wants us to pray
- Our desires line up with desires of God
- We should pray for what God wants
- This is in contrast to those pretenders that want ungodly things, and go after the ungodly things that they want
- What about you, what things do you want in life?
- Your main priority in life should not be to get more things
- Your main priority in life should not be to feel good and have pleasure
- Your main priority in life should not be to please self
- Your priority should be to desire the same things that God desires
- God desires for your life to be a holy example of who God is
- God desires for people to be saved through Jesus Christ
- God desires for Jesus to receive all the glory
- Those things should be your priorities, those are the things that you should want, those are the things that you should pray to have
- GUARD YOUR ACTIONS IN GOD’S LOVE (VS. 13-15, 21, 24)
- In v. 13 where Jude says that these people are reserved for the blackness of darkness forever, that is hell language
- Â Jesus referred to hell in these terms many times during his ministry
- He talked about unbelievers being thrown into everlasting darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth and the worm would not die-In other words torment forever without death
- If this is too abstract for the reader, Jude clarifies in v. 14 and 15 by talking about the prophesied judgment
- When Jesus comes again, he will judge people’s ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
- These pretenders are lost people-they act like lost people-they do things and say things that are opposed to God
- These pretenders that have snuck into the churches will be judged eternally in the lake of fire, the pit of darkness, where there is torment for all eternity when Jesus comes back to the earth
- But Christians are to be different
- In v. 21 it says keep yourselves in the love of God
- The word keep has the idea of guarding and watching out for yourself
- Guard yourself in the love of God
- Jesus says in John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
- Jesus is not talking about losing position with God, He would continue to be the son of God the Father and would continue to be loved by God the Father
- As He lived in that love he did all that the father wanted Him to do
- Christian people should live in the love of guarding the things that we do so that they line up with the commandments of God
- In v. 24 Jude points to Jesus as the one that can keep you faultless and present you before God
- If you have believed that Jesus died on the cross for you
- If you have made Him the Lord of your life
- Then He keeps you saved by His power and His sinlessness
- You are in the love of God, and will remain there
- But God does care how you live, in fact because He loved you enough to save you, you should desire to act like He wants you to act
- You should guard yourself
- Make sure that you are living according to what God wants
- Every day you should wake up on guard for sin
- You should look out for temptation and fight against it
- So that you strive to be holy, like God wants you to be
- So that you strive to do right, according to the Bible, God’s word
- Study it, and act like God wants you to act.
- HUMBLE YOURSELF IN YOUR SALVATION (VS. 16B, 21, 25)
- These pretenders talk with great swelling words and they hold people in admiration
- You see, they live in a world where everyone is striving for the admiration of others
- They live to lift themselves up with their great speeches
- They say all the right things, hoping that everyone will lift them up as something special.
- They are proud of who they are and what they have to say
- They desire to receive glory
- Christians should be different again in v. 21
- Looking for the mercy of Jesus Christ unto eternal life
- In other words a Christian is not going to have eternal life because of all the great things they can do
- It is not because you are somebody special that you are saved
- It is because of the mercy of Jesus Christ
- Mercy is about avoiding the punishment that is deserved
- That is how a Christian person thinks, “I am such a dirty sinner, I am nothing, I deserve hell and punishment, Jesus is all that makes me anything.”
- In v. 25 Jude discusses the only wise God, who is the only one that deserves dominion or control and power
- He deserves glory and majesty now and forever
- God is the one that should be lifted up in your life
- You should be humble in your salvation
- Understand the sinner that you are
- Understand the love of God that showed you mercy
- Understand that you only have the eternal life that you have because of the mercy of Jesus Christ
- Not because you deserve anything
- Not like the pretenders that want to lift themselves up but humble where you belong
- Giving God all the glory and power and majesty
- Lift Him up and put yourself in the proper place of unworthy servant who has received his mercy when you did not deserve it
- MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES (VS. 22-23)
- These pretenders are trying to get what they want
- They want to have control and everything that they desire
- They want to be lifted up and made to be something
- They are concerned with self and not anybody else
- 22-23 show the Christian in a different light
- We are to care about the salvation and spiritual well being of others
- He writes that a Christian should make a difference in the life of some with compassion and love
- In other words, help them and sacrifice for them so that they will listen to the good news of Jesus Christ so that they can be saved
- But look at this next part
- There are going to be some that the Christian will have to pull from the fire with fear
- There are some that are not going to respond to the compassion and love and Christians will have to tell them, you are a sinner and you are going to hell, repent now or you will face torment forever
- What kind of difference are you making in the life of people?
- Do you care if people know Jesus?
- Do you care if people are going to hell?
- Do you love them enough to sacrifice for them and help them?
- Do you love them enough to tell them about the love of Jesus?
- Do you love them enough to tell them the truth about hell and torment if necessary to make sure that they do not go there?
- That is what God wants from His people, unselfish pulling people out of the flames by any means necessary.
- Join the rescue team, start pulling your friends, your family, your acquaintances, everybody you come in contact with from the fire.
CONCLUSION: Yes, there are ungodly false teachers that are going to bring ideas into Christianity that sound good but are opposed to God’s word. You have to watch out for them, so that you are not led down a false path. You will be successful in that if you take an active role in making yourself different. Make yourself more and more useful in the faith. Desire what God wants for your life. Guard your actions because God loves you. Keep yourself humble in your salvation. Make a difference in the lives of the people around you by leading them to eternal life.