If God is so good…

A subject my wife and I discuss frequently is that if you're looking for flaws in people you're sure to find them - guaranteed! That is the view of the pessimist. They always look at life from a negative point of view. Think about it for a moment, if people criticize God 24/7 and He is absolutely perfect in every way, how much more do you think we will be criticized? 

Just a thought.

Back to the subject at hand, "If God is so good, then why"....everyone can fill in their own blank(s). This is an age-old question that for most has not been answered satisfactorily. I recently heard a person on social media raise this question from those who do not attend church because they do not see the need to worship a God who allows death and tragedy every day. Believe me, I understand the frustration and disenchantment people are experiencing. We want things to be better. We want the world at peace and harmony. We want to cure every sickness and disease and get rid of world hunger and poverty. We want to save the planet and protect wildlife. We need to stop polluting our air and oceans. We must preserve and protect our natural resources. We must go green and be Eco-Friendly. We want everyone to love one another with all of our religious, philosophical, political, and ideological differences. Unfortunately, the extremists will try to do this at any cost - even to the point of killing those who resist their agenda. Of course, we call those type of people terrorists.

Well, none of the things I mentioned above has happened completely. Guess what? It will never happen by the hands of sinful mankind. We cannot make things better. Sorry to burst your bubble. We are masters of making things worse though. That is why we must call on God. But what is God's problem? If He is so good as you Christians say, why is He taking so long to fix things? He must not be real or He simply does not care, or He does not have the power to fix the world's problems.

It is amazing to me how blind and short-sighted the world is. We are definitely the offspring of our first father Adam. Let me explain.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God asked Adam did he eat the fruit the Lord commanded him not to eat. Adam responded, "The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate" (Genesis 3:12).

 Do you see what Adam did? First, he blamed his wife then God for what he did wrong. Not once did he blame himself for disobeying the command of the Lord. That is what scholars call the "Adamic (pronounced A-da-mic) Nature" or the sin nature. You see the sinner blames everyone for their problems except themselves. So it is natural or in our nature to blame God for the problems of this world. Just like it was Adam's fault he ate the forbidden fruit, it is our fault the world is in the misery and pain it is currently in. Sadly, we cannot and will not get out of our own way and call upon the Lord in humility and contrition to deliver us from the pain we are in. The world keeps trying to fix what it was never designed to fix. What has been the net result, we are making things worse and worse. Who gets the blame ultimately? God does.

The world is defiantly saying to God after continuing to ruin things, "Why don't You fix this mess You have made?" When He does not fix it on demand, God is not good in the eyes of those who are usually the greatest offenders in the world.

Is God serving us or should we be serving Him?

Understand this, the Bible says God is good and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). That is forever true because God is immutable. So when someone says, "If God is so good why does He allow bad things to happen" etc, that is not God's problem, It is ours. Evil in this life never diminishes the goodness of God, rather evil is the magnifying glass that should show the world clearly its own wickedness. Sadly, it usually does not which reveals to the writer the abysmal depths of man's hopeless depravity apart from divine intervention.

The idea that God sent His only Begotten Son to pay the price for our sins is the ultimate love.  Better question(s) we should be asking is, "Why does God cause wonderful things to happen to us when we do not deserve them? "Why would God send Jesus Christ who was/is perfect die for those who are hopeless and guilty and deserve to go to hell? Why would a good God send His perfect Son to die for wicked human beings; forgive their sins when they trusted in Christ and adopt them into His family as sons and daughters? On top of that, why would God give them an eternal inheritance and seal them with His Holy Spirit claiming them as His own (Ephesians 1:5-14)? Why in the world would a good God do all of these things to those who hate Him?"

Answer? God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

You see God has already taken care of all of our problems when we trusted in Christ. We are victorious and more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We as believers realize that the way things are now will not remain. This hopeless world is passing away with all the evil that is in it. We as Christians are looking forward to new heaven and earth where eternal peace will dwell (Isa 65:17;2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1).

One must have an eternal perspective to see there is a blessed eternal hope past this life of sin. When one has this hope, they have victory because this is not all there is. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says that we are not to look at the things that we see, but on the things that we do not see. For the things that we see are temporary, but the things we do not see are eternal. That is our blessed future inheritance for those of us who are children of  God.

My God is so good that He promised that the present sufferings of this life are not to be compared to the glorious future that awaits us (Romans 8:18).

So the pessimist will continue to ask, "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" The writer's reply is, "Because of the wickedness of man and sin has to run its course". One can also think of it this way, as long as evil exists, it is a clear indication of God's mercy on full display toward sinners. God can very easily get rid of evil. You know how? Get rid of everybody and immediately evil would be gone! Do you see the point I'm driving at? Evil and calamity exist because we are here. Want evil gone? Then we have two choices: 1) stop sinning completely or 2) die.

So, what do you think about evil now?

You want your evil forgiven forever? Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your soul salvation. Once you have been forgiven, you can then look at the wickedness in the world and not blame God for the evil that He graciously allows because He desires that all men repent and not perish.

God has already solved the problem of evil forever through the sacrificial atoning death of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. There is no other solution to mankind's problems. This is what makes God not only good but what I would call Omnigood (or all good)! One day God will get rid of all evildoers so that this world will return to Eden paradise it was in the beginning.

In God's timing, all will be made right. Just wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31).

What is Justification by Death?

I realize this is a question that many are not familiar with so I will explain it. When someone dies and they are eulogized at their memorial service, what you often hear is "Well they are in a better place." Sometimes this is true, but it is not always true.

In other words, if we believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die, we believe in a false doctrine called universalism, or justification by death. What this means is many believe that a person automatically goes to heaven because they are dead - their death justifies or makes them righteous in the sight of God. Why do so many people believe this? Because of their ignorance of Biblical truth. In the world's eyes, their loved one who was a loving, kind, giving soul who would not harm a fly is just the type of person God would (or perhaps in their eyes should) welcome into His kingdom. While this is a novel and heartwarming sentiment, it is a master deception by the enemy. Mankind continues to make the perpetual mistake of thinking they have the right to determine for God how His kingdom is to run.

There is no such thing as justification by death. It is a false doctrine whether someone knows it or not.

I understand those who are not Biblically minded will emotionally and mentally default to this pseudo-ideology.

Justification is the act whereby one is given a declaration of righteousness by God when one trusts in Jesus Christ as their sin bearer. We are given a divine pardon and acquittal from God. In God's eyes He treats us as if we had never sinned! How? Because Jesus took the punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53:5). An incredible reality! 

We have to realize the implications of such a belief system. For those that believe in justification by death, you automatically deny the reality of the clear teaching on the doctrine of hell and eternal separation from God which is undeniably taught in scripture. Who taught on hell more than anyone else? Jesus! While I can cite numerous passages that teach the reality of hell, I will only point out some. 

Mark 9:45-46

• And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched - where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Matthew 23:15,33

• verse 15: Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• verse 33: Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the damnation of hell?

Matthew 25:41-43

• Then He will say to those on the left hand (the goats), Depart from Me into the everlasting fire prepared the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food. I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and did not visit Me.

While I understand that it is heart wrenching to many - including Christians who are unfamiliar with this truth, there is a really horrible place called hell. Anyone who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ will end up there when they die. Don't hate me because I told you the truth (Galatians 4:16). Love always tells the truth (Ephesians 4:15).  We should be way long tired of fake news by now. We also need to stop telling ourselves lies about death and the afterlife to make us feel better. Like someone wisely said, "Eternity is a very long time to be wrong!"

Let's know the truth and be set free (John 8:32). 

This is one of those sacred cows I needed to kill. Those of you who have been following the blog should know my pedigree by now. My endeavor is to bring nothing but the truth.

To believe that everyone automatically goes to heaven when they die destroys the entire Bible. There would no point in preaching the gospel. Jesus came to the earth to preach repentance and ultimately died in vain. There would no need for the church, missionaries or pastors. Christianity would not exist. Why bother with any of this if when we die we go to heaven anyway? We can do whatever we want if justification by death is true.

You see how the world is hopelessly duped? Why? Because lies are more alluring than the truth. When Biblical truth goes against someone's worldview, they take the path of least resistance - the popular path, the wide gate which is the path to destruction (Matthew 7:13)! 

Let's be willing to uphold Biblical truth even to the point of ridicule, and persecution by all. This position will distinguish between those who are true soldiers in the Lord's army and those who are not.

Remember, we are in a truth war. It ain't for the faint of heart!

Will everyone that has ever lived be Resurrected?

In Daniel 12:1-2 we read this, “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

So, what does all of this mean? Daniel receives visions and records what is going to happen to his people in the future, the nation Israel. Michael is the archangel who watches over the nation. In the latter days, Israel will experience the worst time in its history. As a matter of fact, it will be the worst time in human history because the Lord will unleash His wrath upon mankind for their rebellion. Sin has a payday - death (Romans 6:23).  In verse two Daniel says that many of those who are in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Jesus mentions this same reality in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth - those that do good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

What Jesus and Daniel have declared is that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust; a raising of the righteous and the wicked. What are they being raised for? For reward and judgment respectively.

During the end times, when the seven year tribulation period has ended, there will be two resurrections; one at the Millennium, and one after the Millennium. The Millennium occurs after the second coming of Christ (Revelation 19:11-21).  Revelation chapter 20 talks about a thousand years of global peace where the devil will be chained and thrown into the abyss or bottomless pit (Revelation 20:3).  Also in the same chapter, it talks about those who remained faithful to death in that they did not accept the mark of the beast and were beheaded.  These were resurrected and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection (vs 4b). 

Let’s review: During the end times, there is great tribulation on the earth. As I mentioned earlier it will be the worst time the world will ever know. The devil, the antichrist (also known as the Beast, the man of sin and the lawless one) and lastly the false prophet will form an alliance, an unholy trinity. The world will worship them. The beast will have a mark that he will force all those on the earth to receive either on the right hand or on their foreheads. Those who do not will be put to death by beheading. These are the faithful that we call tribulation saints. Many Christians believe the church has been raptured to heaven during this time (pre-tribulationists). 

What I wrote in the last paragraph can be found in Revelation 13.

Now after the thousand years are completed, the devil is released from his imprisonment. In one last-ditch effort, he deceives and gathers all the enemies of God (called Gog and Magog) to converge and destroy Israel. Scripture says fire will come down from heaven and destroy them. The devil will be cast into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are. This act will end the reign of global terror by the devil forever (Revelation 20: 7-10).

The Great White Throne Judgment

All those who were not resurrected during the Millennium will be raised during this time. All the wicked dead from all time will be raised from the dead to face judgment for everything they have ever done while they were on the earth. This group includes all the OT enemies of God like Pharoah of Egypt during the time of Moses, and Adolph Hitler of Nazi Germany and even those who live and die during the Tribulation and Millennium period. The Bible tells us the books will be opened. These books are records of the deeds of those who have rebelled against the Lord their whole life long. In other words, they will be facing Jesus Christ as their judge, not their Savior for their wretched life. They will know why they are guilty. Understand, prior to these countless lives facing eternal judgment, they were in hell when they died physically. Their ultimate destination is the lake of fire that death and hell will be thrown into (Revelation 20:14).  Just as the redeemed will live eternally with the Lord, the holy angels, and all the saints, the unredeemed will live eternally without the Lord, with the devil, his angels, the beast and the false prophet. The saints are given new resurrection immortal bodies fit for heaven and eternity whereas non-believers are given bodies fit for eternal hell. No one ever goes out of existence. Believers receive everlasting rest. Non-believers receive everlasting torment because their names are not found in the book of life (Revelation 20:11-15).

The Bible refers to this as the second death. You can also call it eternal death.

So, all who die will be resurrected; either to be rewarded or be punished. Keep in mind that many will never die but will be changed and given immortal bodies when Christ comes for His church but that is for perhaps another article (1 Thess 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15:51-58). 

Lord I Believe Help My Unbelief!

There was a man who had a demon possessed son. He brought him to the disciples who could not cast the demon out. Jesus frustrated with His disciples lack of faith asked the father how long his son had been in that condition. The father replied that his son has been this way since childhood. The father requested that if Jesus could do anything, have pity on them and help the boy (Mark 9:23).

This father is completely desperate and has nowhere else to turn but to Jesus. Jesus said to him, all things are possible to them that believe. To me, the following reply by the father is one of the most honest and prolific statements in all the Bible, "Lord I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24)!

No doubt that man's faith was emboldened when he saw the demon cast out of his son. The man received two things he asked for; for his faith to be strengthed by Jesus which the Lord did when
He cast the demon out of his son. Jesus gave the man a two for one deal.

Sweet.

For those of us who are children of God, we have experienced doubt in the promises of God. Our faith sometimes gets weak like this man. We want to believe, but oftentimes we allow our trials to overshadow our trust in the Lord to deliver us or to make His strength perfect in our weakness in the trial. I do not know if this man is in heaven, but if he is I would love to shake his hand when I get there. Why? 1) He went to the person who he knew could help. 2) Because of his love for his son and the agony of his son's demon possession he pleaded for mercy to Jesus to help him. 3) The father knew that his faith was not strong and was willing to admit it - he had doubt in the power of God.  As a result, Jesus being the merciful God-Man that He is cast the demon out of his son (Mark 9:25). 

Now let us switch reels. I likened the above account to a parable. Everyone is in need of deliverance from the Lord. The world needs salvation. There is only one person who can deliver your soul. Just like there was only one person who could deliver that demon possessed boy, the Lord Jesus Christ. When you have a person who has complete authority of the natural world by healing the sick, and the supernatural world by casting out demons, you're dealing with someone who is omnipotent.

So, just like this man who was completely hopeless before meeting Jesus, all the world is hopeless and like that demon possessed boy until they encounter the Lord, plead for mercy for Him to save them when they believe on His name. For anyone that is sincere about their repentance, God will give them faith to believe in Him and receive eternal deliverance in salvation.

God loves the Sinner but hates the Sin right?

Is this a true or "churchy" statement? it may surprise many that the Bible never makes the above statement. We in the church have popularized it. Does the word of God even imply the statement is true? Let's examine the word to find out.

Psalm 5:5 says the Lord hates the workers of iniquity. Psalm 11:5 says the wicked and the one who loves violence His (the Lord) soul hates. The word wicked in Hebrew means someone who is intent on breaking God's law, His rules. They do not want to stop sinning. For them sinning is insatiable. We would call someone like that a menace to society. This is the type of person that God hates. Please hear me clearly as I write, God not only hates the sin, He hates the person who commits sin without remorse.

Why?

Because God cannot punish sin without punishing the sinner right? It would be just as illogical to say an oncologist will treat cancer but not treat the cancer patient. By getting rid of the cancer, they cure the patient of the disease.

How God's love rescues us from sin's penalty

It is because of the Father's love and hatred of our sins that the Father sent the Lord Jesus to die and take away our sins (John 3:16; Rom 4:25; 1John 2:2;4:10). As we all know, our sins were not crucified, Jesus was crucified as if He was an actual sinner bearing our sins and suffering our penalty which was death (II Corinthians 5:21). Do we see how deplorable it is for someone who knows the most extreme lengths of God's love for them through the death of Christ to despise that love and to persist in rebellion against God? God has every right to hate that person. Here is the wonderful thing though - God's arms are still open wide to receive recalcitrant sinners to repent and believe the gospel. But time is of the essence. God will not be patient forever.

What about Christians who sin?

The difference between a believer and a non-believer is that our sins have been removed from us forever when we trusted Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and the justification of our souls. We are no longer in sin, we are now in Christ. He is our blessed refuge and hope. He earned salvation for us so sin's penalty has been removed forever because we acknowledge our need for Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world. God no longer hates us when we sin. But we must be quick to confess and forsake it to God so that we do not break sweet fellowship with the Lord (1 John 1:9).

For the unrepentant sinner, their sins have not been forgiven because they refuse to confess them and trust Jesus for the forgiveness and removal of them. Their sin remains (John 9:41). What is the tragic result of their sinful condition? God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11).

Rounding The Bases

For those who believe that God is a God of love only, what I have written is a shocking revelation to you. God is the only being who loves and hates perfectly.  What is perfect hatred? It is hatred without malice or evil. We can't relate because we can neither love nor hate perfectly.

God does indeed love sinners and hates all sin. Notice I did not say God loves all sinners. God hates the wicked. I know that type of thinking runs antithetical to what we have been taught to believe.

It is most important we know and understand this characteristic of God so that we have a greater reverence for Him. The greater our knowledge of how the Almighty's pedigree is, the deeper we can go in our relationship with Him. Every child wants to have an intimate relationship with their father. How much more should we desire a deep relationship with our Heavenly Father?

So, let us spend the rest of our natural lives loving what God loves and hating what He hates.

What is Biblical Hope?

A common definition of hope is a wish. Someone has received some news like a potential job offer, a raise on a current job. News about a health prognosis. The outcome is not certain and unforeseen so usually, there is tremendous anxiety. Why? Because we do not know the outcome in advance. Many believe thinking positive can sway the outcome, but that does not work. I do not mean to sound negative, but our thoughts do not have any mental-bending-telepathic powers to determine the outcome of things. Putting "positive energy" in the universe is nothing more than New Age Mysticism. Oftentimes our hope is disappointed in this life - we do not get that job we wanted. Sometimes a person's surgery or therapy does not improve their health and their situation becomes terminal; they are going to die. 

Ordinary hope is never a guarantee because it is based on those who do not always keep their word.  Sometimes things do go our way. What we hoped (wished) for does comes to pass and we are elated. Ordinary hope realized is not everlasting though. Death will end all earthly hope. If one's hope is not in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are in a hopeless state and most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19).

How does the Bible define hope? The Greek word is elpis. It means a favorable and earnest expectation. This hope is based on the promises of God to us. This hope is not something we wish to happen. This hope is a surety to happen although it is in the future and not seen physically. We as believers can clearly see the hope that is in Christ through the revelation of scripture. 

One of the things that we hope and trust is the second coming of Christ. Titus 2:13 refers to that event as the blessed hope. Once again, we are hoping in something that is guaranteed to happen. We have to hope in that reality because it has not happened yet. Once it is actual, we obviously do not need to hope for what we can see.

Romans 5:5 says hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. What makes Biblical hope so wonderful is where it is based; the rock solid truth of God's word. That is why we can rejoice in this hope and why it will never disappoint us (Romans 5:2).

The stark difference between worldly hope and Biblical hope is simple, worldly hope will end in failure and disappointment because it cannot bring lasting joy. God's hope, on the other hand, will last forever because it is guaranteed by God Almighty and nothing in heaven, on earth or anything under the earth can stop God's love for us that promises and assures our hope. 

Commentary on The Book of Jude

                                         

Intro

Jude is the brother of James – the author of the Book of James, and the half-brother of Jesus Christ. Jude initially did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah until he rose from the dead (John 7:5; 1 Cor 15:6). Scholars declare this book was written around 68-70 A.D. before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. No specific audience is identified, but we know that Jude is addressing believers because in his salutation he says, “Those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ (vs.1).” This can only make reference to believers.

Jude’s letter was to discuss our common salvation, but the Spirit of God guided him in another direction.

What Jude had to discuss to his readers

Jude had to warn his readers to contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints. To contend earnestly means to wage war. To be a combatant for the truth. This is a truth war. Why? Because of evil men, false teachers have perverted the grace of God into a word we do not use in everyday language, licentiousness. It is a word that means without moral restraint. These evil doers were dragging the grace of God underfoot as an occasion to do evil. Jude goes on to describe them in great detail:

1.      They defile the flesh - this means they are sexually deviant. They are likened to Sodom and Gomorrah who God destroyed for their immorality. They are also likened to those who were delivered from Egypt but died in the wilderness due to unbelief. Also, they are like the Angels that sinned in Genesis 6 by not keeping their first estate. God has consigned them to eternal bonds of darkness (vv 5-7).

2.      They also do not respect authority – they are rebellious. To despise human authority is to despise God who created human authority (Romans 13). Jude gives a cosmic example of the situation regarding the body of Moses. Michael the archangel and Satan disputed about the body of Moses. Why was this dispute taking place? Some believe that if the children of Israel knew where Moses’ body was buried, the site would become an object of worship which is idolatry.  Pretty much what many people do today when they visit the gravesites of their loved ones. They talk to the site as if the dead can hear them. Michael did not rebuke Satan himself but declared, “The Lord rebuke you! (vs. 9).” Although Satan is the arch enemy of God, Michael knew his place and called upon the Lord to rebuke the devil.

3.      They blaspheme what they do not understand – to blaspheme is to use derogatory or profane language against someone. Of course, the worst kind of blasphemy is against the Lord. An apostate is someone who falls away and rebels against the truth are spiritually inept and ignorant. Usually people like this talk arrogantly about what they do not know. Especially when the subject is spiritual matters.

4.      They are prophets for hire – They are like Balaam who sold himself for money. They are also like rebellious Korah who challenged Moses’ authority and perished and all those with him. (Num 16:34). Also, Cain who displeased the Lord by presenting an unholy offering. They are unholy pseudo-spiritual prostitutes.

5.      They are hidden reefs or blemishes – you have to be careful regarding these people. They sit in your worship services and they appear as legitimate saints when they are not. Eating with you so they can pretentiously befriend you so they can ultimately take advantage of you. Jude goes on to further describe them as: clouds without water which is an oxymoron. We all expect clouds give us a rain which feeds the earth and causes it to flourish and grow. Apostates once again show their hypocrisy by appearing to be something they are not.  Trees without fruit, doubly or twice dead, uprooted. Jesus cursed the fig tree that didn’t have any fruit when he was hungry. The next day it had withered and died (Mark 11:20). Why did He do this? Because the tree was fruitless and useless. So were these false teachers Jude describes. Wild waves of the sea casting up their own shame. This description speaks to the instability of these individuals. Wandering stars whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. Their destiny has been determined because of the unwillingness to submit to the truth they have been exposed to.

Enoch’s Prophecy

Jude by inspiration of the Holy Spirit declared that Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied long ago about these apostates stating, “Behold the Lord will come with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all and convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (vv 14-15).“ We have no codified record of this, but there is an apocryphal[i] pseudepigraphal[ii] work entitled “The Book of Enoch”. The author(s) of this book placed this prophecy in their writings to perhaps convince their readers that their work was authentic. Apparently, Enoch’s prophecy was passed down through millennia until it reached the second century B.C. when this book was written. The prophecy of Enoch is real, but the book bearing his name is not. Once again, the Holy Spirit moved Jude to declare Enoch’s prophecy. Jude did not quote from the Pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch.

Jude continues to describe these wicked people as grumblers, finding fault following after their own lusts. They also flatter with the tongue in hopes of trying to take advantage of people (vs. 16). This should come as no surprise Jude says because the apostles of the Lord said in the last days mockers would rear their ugly heads. They are of the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:3; 2 John1:7). They cause divisions in the church. They are unsaved, worldly minded and devoid of God’s Spirit.

What we are supposed to do

Jude said for us to edify (to build up as a strong fortress) ourselves on our most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit. This does not mean pray in an ecstatic, unintelligible speech which many call tongues. But rather praying by the leading of God’s Spirit (vs. 20).

We are to anticipate anxiously the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ which of course is eternal life. We are also to have patience with those who doubt the truth. It does not mean they do not believe, but they are not fully convinced. Their belief is not solid, so they need undergirding due to perhaps an immature faith in God. It’s there but not strong where it is a rock solid, unmovable faith (vv 21-22). Trusting God fully will take time. Teaching consistent sound doctrine is loving and will cast out doubt and fear. One MUST always expose themselves to Biblical truth so that faith will come (Romans 10:17). They can easily fall away if they listen to false doctrine – causing them to forget and abandon the truth they knew. The Bible calls that shipwrecked faith (1 Timothy 1:19).

The last group need the gospel so desperately that it’s described as “snatching them out of the fire”. If the apostate’s unfortunate followers do not receive the gospel, they will certainly perish in hell. They are totally polluted with sin and must receive the gospel with haste due to the apostate’s filthy doctrine. They are also in dire need of God’s mercy, the apostate, and those defiled by their filthy teaching and ways. Jude says we are to do this with fear even hating the clothing defiled by the flesh (vs. 23). Filthy garments in scripture are symbolic of an unrighteous life. When we are blood washed by the lamb (John 1:29; Rev 1:5), the Bible says we are wearing white clean robes which symbolizes righteousness (Revelation 3:4,5,18). These are given to us. We never earn them.

Jude ends his letter doxological letting us know that God will keep us from falling (into apostasy) He will preserve us until the end and present us blameless with great joy. Here’s a profound truth: Jude says to the only God (meaning there is only one God in the universe) through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty and dominion and authority forever (bold italics added for emphasis).  Jude is declaring to God the attributes that already belong to Him. It is to our advantage to ascribe these virtues to our God so that our lips bear fruit in praise to His glorious, and matchless name [Hebrews 13:15(vv 24-25)].

Amen.

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[i] Apocryphal is the adjective version of the noun Apocrypha which means hidden.

[ii] Pseudepigraphal is the adjective version of the noun Pseudepigrapha which means false writings