#11: Jude 1-4 - A Warning Against Wolves

Intro:

We find plenty of warnings in Scripture to be on the lookout for those who will lead the church astray.  Jude’s letter is one such warning.  This is a remarkably rich letter - only containing 25 verses and about 600 words in the ESV.  

Key points:

• A call to contend
• On Wolves
• This call is to every person in the church

Scripture quoted:

• Jude 1-4
• Eph 4:12
• Ephesians (5.6-7,11)

More sources / notes:

• Thomas Manton, Commentary on Jude
• William Jenkyn, An Exposition upon the Epistle of Jude
• John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress
• Thomas Schreiner, Commentary on 1&2 Peter and Jude

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Transcript

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 [00:00:00] We find plenty of warnings in scripture to be on the lookout for those who will lead the church astray. Jude's letter is one such warning. It's a remarkably rich letter.

It only contains twenty-five verses and about six hundred words in the ESV.

Welcome to 3onefive, here we discuss apologetics, biblical studies, world view, just one point, fifteen minutes or less. I'm Jones Oliver.

In Jude's letter we read about a warning to a church, a church that had been infiltrated and had been deceived by false teachers. Thankfully, we still have that letter so we can study it, learn from it, hopefully apply it. In today's episode we'll only plan to get to the first four verses.

So to start, we ask, who is this Jude? Turns out from Mark's Gospel, we learn that this is most likely the brother of James and the half-brother of Jesus. As for this James, this is both the leader of the Jerusalem church and the author of what we know as the Book of James. Based on [00:01:00] what little we do know about this Jude, like his brother James, . it's thought that he was not a believer during Jesus' lifetime, but was likely converted soon after his resurrection

Our next question, who was this epistle written to? And because we're not told within the letter, there's a lot of discussion trying to decide if this were written to primarily a Gentile or a Jewish audience.

Given the internal evidence, The fact that Jude quotes a number of Jewish writings, including it's thought the Book of Moses and Enoch, I'm persuaded like many others that Jude is likely writing to Christians with Jewish roots

We'll pick up this letter in verse three, where Jude writes

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints

So what's Jude saying here?

Well, there's a lot here, but let's stick to a few key points.

On the surface, it appears that Jude already had it on his heart to write to this church And initially he wanted to send them what appears to be an encouraging [00:02:00] letter, one that would have discussed their common salvation, that salvation shared between all saints but as we read,

Jude was moved to write a different letter, one that was more urgent. One calling this church to defend the faith. And in the very next verse, Jude will tell us a bit more why he changed topics So when we read Jude's letter, we should read it with a sense of urgency.

This is a call to action. Jude is pleading that his audience regain control of their church

So if we keep that in mind, this phrase, contend for the faith, is meant to be a rigorous defense.

We Christian apologists in the 21st century, we often use this phrase to describe the free exchange of ideas in the public square, but that's not what Jude is getting at here. Here, it's meant to imply something that is highly competitive or athletic.

In other words, think of struggle or an intense effort.

Now, as we move to verse four, Jude lets us know why the urgency for certain people have crept in unnoticed. And then he tells us a bit more about these people, that they were ungodly people who pervert the [00:03:00] grace of God, who deny the lordship of Christ.

Now, if that wasn't enough to get their attention, Jude will later in the letter contend that these same people defile the flesh, reject authority, blaspheme.

He compares them to unreasoning animals. Jude compares their ways to that of Cain, who was a murderer, and he says that they are shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds, fruitless trees, wild waves, wandering stars, that they're grumblers, malcontents, that they follow their own sinful desires, loudmouthed boasters, and that they show favoritism for their own personal gain.

Again, he says all this and more in less than six hundred words

This list reminds us of Jesus' warning of wolves among the sheep and how we would recognize those wolves by their fruit. It seems Jude is trying to show his readers that the fruit of these wolves is indeed rotten

Now, when we talk about fruit, we must remember that this is different from a list of achievements. In the Christian life, fruit always [00:04:00] starts with the right relationship with Christ. Good fruit must have Christ-like traits

And there are no shortage of biblical examples for this kind of fruit. But a good place to start is in Galatians with the fruit of the Spirit Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control

Now, there are certainly times when fruit does feed into remarkable action, but godly fruit truly starts with a regenerated heart.

Why do I elaborate on this? Because so often achievements have been used to mask some pretty unsavory characters in the church, and it's easy to point to achievements as success.

And so often this is our default mode when we're thinking about others and maybe even ourselves as we've been measured in one way or another since we were about five years old. From school grades to college acceptance, to workforce, to promotions, to pay raises, and in some cases with a down economy or down business, just trying to keep our jobs.

LinkedIn is built on people writing down their achievements Heck, just hanging out with friends will often evoke a story. Did I ever tell you [00:05:00] about that time when... And then the story goes from there. And for the most part, capturing your work achievements, retelling of a grand adventure, they're okay things to do, but the church is not a place to flex accomplishments.

This is God's church.

And so wolves come in a variety of ways When you're looking for an evangelist or pastor or elder or deacon, Of course, there's always Paul's writing to Timothy, but Jude gives us the warning to be on the lookout for the other side of the coin

Question comes, what happens when you choose poor leaders or you allow someone to rise up or start setting their own agenda?

Here in Jude's letter is that warning. We also see this from Paul when he warned both the church at Ephesus and at Corinth against the very same thing, that wolves would enter their church and devour the flock

This letter from Jude is sounding that same alarm. However, here in Jude, this is no longer a future event, but something that needs attention right now Jude also uses the word crept. And that instantly invokes this image of [00:06:00] the serpent in the garden.

Likewise, Jesus implies similar craftiness with his parable of the weeds, that while the farmer's men were asleep, the enemy came at night and sowed weeds among the wheat. And just as Satan crept into the garden of Eden unnoticed, so had these ungodly men that Jude warns his church about. They had crept in the church, And though we get the impression they were welcome, we also get this idea that they crept in wearing sheep's clothing, if you will

But we have to ask ourselves, given this laundry list of rotten fruit, how do wolves creep into a church? On the surface, it seems if such folks wandered into your church, you'd recognize them pretty quickly, right?

As the Puritan William Jenkyn writes, "Satan is the most hurtful to the church when he opposes it by subtlety and creeping, when he comes not as an open enemy, but an appearing friend. He's never so much a devil as when he appears in white and transforms himself into an angel of light. He does more hurt by creeping into than breaking into the church."

Another [00:07:00] Puritan, Thomas Manton, wrote a bit further on this topic of wolves and deception.

Among other points, he lists that they may appear quite humble. That they may appear to be loving, kind, generous. That they may be well-educated and good teachers.

In other words, it's quite possible that the false teacher will sit down next to you, open a hymnal, and sing right along with everybody else.

Let's be honest, that makes it pretty difficult to spot the wolf there are cults out there trying to persuade Christians that they're Christians.

False teachings, some that you know and some that you don't, that use the same words, but those words don't mean the same thing.

Sometimes, like a good salesperson, we can be led on a hundred small yeses, and we just don't recognize that moment where to say no. We can be lulled, we can drop our defenses, and before we know it, we've

taken a small step off the straight and narrow path. Just a little step, but a step nonetheless.

And any of us who have ever needed a course correction in doctrine or in life knows how difficult it can be to get back on track. Of course, [00:08:00] John Bunyan writes about this and so much more in his well-read work, Pilgrim's Progress.

So then back to this question, how do we find the wolves? As R.C. Sproul was often quoted as saying, "To find fake diamonds, you study real ones." In other words, we don't have to study all the imposters. We just have to know when biblical truth has been contradicted. And that starts with knowing the Bible, understanding God's word in time and space, and sitting under good preaching and teaching.

And in turn, we must all be wise and careful in selecting our church leaders We must be on the lookout for wolves, but we also must find men who can hunt wolves. Let me say that again. We must all be on the lookout for wolves, but we also must find men who can hunt wolves.

Don't be quick to lay hands on men because of their worldly positions or their worldly accomplishments. Don't think you need a specific number of elders. Don't give in to scarcity or the temptation that comes along with long seasons of without.

Ordain and [00:09:00] install those men who are indeed pastors, elders, and deacons. Do not rush to fill what you perceive as gaps. If you only have one eligible elder, will it be difficult on him? Yes. If you only have one eligible deacon, will it be difficult on him? Yes. But if you install a wolf to fill a need, it could be devastating for your church.

Jude's letter again is a call for action. It mirrors much of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians when he said, "Let no one deceive you with empty words. Do not become partners with them. Take no part in the unfruitful works, but instead expose them.

Jude was calling for the false teachers to be exposed and removed from the church. This was most likely not an easy task, but for the sake of the church, for Christ's bride This was a necessary task. Now, as we finish up verse four, we see that these false teachers perverted the gospel in two ways.

First, they denied the lordship of Jesus. These particular wolves had tried to deny Jesus of his divine glory, [00:10:00] as so many others have tried to do. Don't be fooled. This is a common tactic.

Certainly no serious student of history can deny the historical Jesus of Nazareth. But the question then comes, who is he? That Jesus is Lord and Savior is central to the gospel. Remove him from his throne, and where's the power of the gospel? And what consequence is this Jesus? He becomes just a good teacher with an enthusiastic fan base that distorted his life events and made him a God.

If you make Jesus merely a good man, the Bible has no more authority than the dictionary. It becomes just another book of antiquity,

And second, these false teachers perverted the grace of God. Paul also wrote about this in the letter of Galatians. In other words, if your works anchor your salvation, why do you need Jesus as a savior?

So in closing, we should note that Jude's letter is to every person in the church.

And what does that mean? Well, once you're in a church, unlike Monopoly, there is no free parking. Every person is a part of the body. Every person has a role in the health of that [00:11:00] body. In other words, Jude isn't talking to just the church leaders.

He's talking to each and every person in the pews. This charge to contend isn't just the task of the pastor and elders. It's the task of every single saint. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes that the churches are given evangelists, shepherds, and teachers so that the saints are equipped for the work of ministry, ready to contend, ready to wrestle against false teaching We should also note that yeast works without us seeing it.

You put it in the dough, the dough rises, and Jesus warns his disciples of the Pharisees' leaven, of the Pharisees' wrong teaching Likewise, the teaching of any false teacher, whether it be extra layers, clever ideas, wrong theology, it'll mix invisibly like yeast throughout the church This false teaching doesn't have to be from the pulpit on Sunday morning.

It could start in a midweek's women's study or a Saturday morning men's book study. This false teaching may not start with an elder, deacon, or pastor.

It may start with someone in the group who just simply seems biblically knowledgeable and this adds emphasis to the previous point. If [00:12:00] Jude's letter is to every person in the church, then each person in the church has the task to help identify and defend the faith against false teaching, to be ready to contend for gospel truth.

Now, some may be hearing this thinking, "Yep, I completely agree with Jude, but that's just not who I am. That's not my gift." If that's you, please let me encourage you that every saint is called to contend for the gospel But let me further encourage you that we do not take on this task because we're equipped with boldness.

I know some are. We are to be defenders of faith, not because we have the will to fight, but because we recognize the mercy of God in our lives.

That said, we must be charitable. All saints are on a different point in their Christian walk, and, and all of us are still learning. A genuine, confused understanding of scripture is not the same as peddling unsound doctrine, and those who mistakenly err will often take correction willingly.

Please be gentle with those [00:13:00] saints.

And finally, this faith, this gospel truth, it's worth contending for. Scripture is our treasure. Again, the Puritan William Jenkyn writes, "The written word is the cabinet wherein lies the jewel of faith, the star which shows where the babe lodges, the light which discovers the beauty of salvation, a book of apocalypse, or revelation of Christ."

And elsewhere, he writes, "If you let go for that pretended faith of seducers, you part with a pearl for a pebble." As Jesus taught in his parables, both of the man who sold everything he had for a pearl of great worth or the fellow who sold everything for the field with the hidden treasures, this treasure, above all treasures, is worth contending for.

It is for this treasure that martyrs have refused to recant. Jude had considered writing about something else, but this treasure he knew was much more important. It is this treasure that Jude called that church to defend, And today we're called to contend for, [00:14:00] defend that same treasure, the same faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Hey, thanks for listening. Check out the show notes for links and more information. Till next time.